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Thanks to DNA testing, 54-year-old Utahn finally finds birth mom — creating a unique Mother’s Day celebration

Lisa Akers of Grantsville always knew she was adopted into what she calls a wonderful family. But for 54 years, she has still sometimes wondered about her birth mother — what she was like, what she was doing, did she think about Lisa, did she have more children?

“The voice on the other end of the phone said, ‘Hi, this is your mother,’” Akers says. "I said, ‘I need just a minute to sit down,’ and I was able to talk to her for about 45 minutes.”

The pair was able to find and reach out to each other because of commercial DNA tests.