Foster Mom Found 20 Years Later: "I Never Said Thank You

Sarah Paul never forgot the woman who believed in her when almost nobody else did. Nearly 20 years after aging out of Arizona's foster care system, she finally found a way to say thank you.

Paul entered foster care at 13, bouncing between shelters and group homes without stability. Her caseworker, Barbara Daw-Sanders, became the anchor she desperately needed during those chaotic years.

"She was exactly what I needed," Paul said. "She's what made me not continue the cycle, not go down the same path as everyone else in my family."

Daw-Sanders set boundaries and held Paul accountable, but she also showed up in ways that went far beyond her job description. One Thanksgiving, she invited Paul to spend the holiday with her own family.

"I felt like I had a home, I felt like I had somebody that cared," Paul remembered. "Felt like I had family, and that wasn't something that I had."

Life moved forward and the two lost touch. Paul became a mother at 17 and focused on raising her daughter and building a stable life.

Years later, while fiercely protecting her own teenage daughter through a difficult time, Paul had a revelation. "All of the things that I started to do, to protect her and to stand up for her and to fight for her, was the same things that she did for me," she said. "It hit me: I never told her thank you."

While preparing for her daughter's graduation, Paul found an old scrapbook with a photo from the hospital the day she gave birth. Standing protectively beside her teenage self was Daw-Sanders.

Paul shared the photo on Facebook with her story, hoping someone might recognize her former caseworker. Hundreds of people joined the search, forwarding the post until it reached the right person.

"As I open my Facebook page, I have people forwarding her message to me," Daw-Sanders said. When she saw it was Sarah, she sent a simple message: "Sarah?"

"Just instantly, I got goose bumps and just kind of word vomited a whole bunch of thank yous and appreciations," Paul said.

Sunny's Take

The reunion revealed something even more remarkable: the two women had been living just three miles from each other all along. What seemed like an impossible search ended practically in their own backyard.

"I'm so, so proud of her," Daw-Sanders said. "For her to say thank you for something that I just seen as second nature, it makes me feel appreciated."

The reconnection has blossomed into something lasting. They're already making plans to spend future holidays together, picking up a bond that time never actually broke.