Ryan Meets His Past

Beyond Thankful: I Waited Decades For This Moment.

By Ryan Bomberger, cofounder of The Radiance Foundation

Little did I know when we launched The Henry & Andrea Bomberger Adopted & Loved Fund, my own story would unfold in ways that can only be done by God’s hand! 

Back in January 2023, I filled out paperwork to receive my original birth certificate. I was certain they’d reject my request. Why? Because my birthmom experienced the horrific violence of rape. Thankfully (and that’s an understatement), she didn’t make me a victim of the violence of abortion. So, although I was conceived in rape, I was adopted in love. 

My mom is the one who alerted me to the change in Pennsylvania’s laws back in 2019. So, after proscrastinating (something I so rarely do ) I finally submitted my request years later and waited. Within less than 2 weeks, it came in the mail.

I opened it like it was Christmas! For the first time ever, I saw my birth mom’s name: Sharon! Names are such a powerful thing. My entire life, I never knew what to call the courageous birthmom who made it possible for me to love and to be loved. That moment was so deep. 

A few minutes later, my wife Bethany and I started searching online with Sharon’s full name only to find something I wasn’t prepared for. Bethany looked up from her laptop, face saddened, and said: “Babe, I found her.” She paused and took a breath: “I found her obituary.”

My whole life I had mentally run through scenarios of meeting her, of thanking her, of getting to see the incredible woman who gave me the gift of the Bomberger family. All of that was erased in an instant. I had always hoped I would be able to let her know her birthson grew up happy and so loved. I wanted to tell her how grateful I was that, despite her trauma, she enabled triumph!

There was no photo attached to the very short obituary, but there was some startling information, such as her birthdate. Get this! I was born…on her birthday! May 5th. I couldn’t believe it. I also learned from that “she had no children.” That was a really hard, but understandable, line to read. 

The brief tribute confirmed she had served in the military, a detail I’ve known since 2004 when I originally had my adoption records unsealed.   

I learned the names of Sharon’s relatives (which were my biological relatives). That led me on a weeks-long journey of searching for valid phone numbers and physical addresses. I just wanted to see, without causing hurt or possibly re-opening emotional wounds, if maybe someone even knew what my birthmom had gone through and maybe had some more of the story to tell me.

Every lead led nowhere.

For two years, I gave up on trying to find any biological connections.

Fast forward to October 2025. It was Saturday the 4th, and I was looking through some files about my birthmom on my laptop. Bethany came into the room and asked what I was doing.

“I just want to know something more about my birthmom. I just want to see a picture. Just one.” A few minutes later, we were back at it again and wouldn’t you know, it was Bethany who found yet another obituary. This time it was one of Sharon’s sisters, Diane. This led to more names and current locations of several relatives including her last surviving sister, Carol. A little more online sleuthing (okay, Facebook stalking) provided what seemed to be a current phone number for the woman I would find out raised her own sister due to really difficult circumstances with their biological mother. 

Five days went by before I could muster the courage to call the number. It was Thursday, October 9th at around 5pm. My wife and I were supposed to leave and drive up to Lancaster county (where I grew up). We were booked to speak, jointly, at an Align Life Ministries pregnancy center banquet in Lancaster city. We were running late, but I felt so compelled to call despite our need to get on the road. Was it a valid number? Would the person hang up on me? Would it actually be Carol on the other end? It probably was another dead end. I had been here many times before. 

But this time was different. Carol picked up. 

Watch the series of “Adoptee Meets His Past” videos below to learn what happened (Part 1, 2 and 3). We still can’t believe it ourselves! #OnlyGod