Bryan Rainsong Gandy grew up with two brothers in an adopted family in south Alabama.
He has never met his biological parents.
"I was born Bryan Tyson Hunter. I was born in Chicago, Illinois and I was born in 1975," said Gandy. "In 2000 I started looking for siblings. My brother Charles and I started having children and we felt that there was a great need for us to get medical information," said Bryan Gandy.
It wasn't easy. All he had to go on were his biological parents' last names- Sumner and Hunter.
"I would say thousands of hours have been spent on the internet. Hundreds of hours have been spent going through phone books," said Bryan Gandy.
It turns out he wasn't the only one searching and Bryan found more than he could have imagined.
"Up until 2001 I was the oldest child of three boys. Now I am the fifth child of ten or twelve," said Bryan Gandy.
He says his parents had twelve children in multiple states that were all put up for adoption.
"A lot of these kids were raised only children," said Gandy. "Phone bills have gone through the roof because you have so many more people to stay connected to, to keep up with, to check on, to be there as a listener, to try to formulate a relationship with someone you don't really know," said Gandy. "We had a family reunion in Florence and a lot of us were able to get together and one or two siblings weren't there, but a lot of us are starting to meet and connect and trying to pick up the pieces and start a life. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
There was also sad news. He first saw pictures of his biological parents two months ago, but his father passed away in 2006.
"My sister Christy was the only one of us who was able to meet him," said Gandy.
He says finding his biological family has been a painstaking process and progress has usually come in small increments over the last decade, but Monday there was a breakthrough in the search for his mother.
"In West Virginia I did a referral through one of their case workers and I just basically said it's been since 2003, nobody's heard from my mother. Her sisters, none of my aunts or uncles know anything about her, can you please help me? It took them a couple of days, but they got back with me and said ‘we found her.’ She's living in a group home and they want me to come and visit with her on Monday. Thirty-one years is how long this has all been going on and I would tell any of your viewers that God does listen and he does answer prayers."
"What motivated it was a desire to find my own history and puzzle pieces and get them all connected, but to help other people as well in this process. Alabama is the only state out of fifty that allows you to get your sealed records opened,” said Gandy.
The Alabama Center for Health Statistics is the best place to find vital records, according to Gandy.
"You can get your non-identifying paperwork regarding your adoption through them. You can purchase your original birth certificate through them. It's all open and it's there for people to use if you wish to avail yourself of those resources. They have been very forthcoming.
Without them who knows where I would be today?" said Gandy.
Bryan Gandy is still looking for siblings. He can be reached at gandyson@bellsouth.net or (205) 515-8843.
