Adopted El Paso woman finds long-lost family while battling rare illness
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — For most of her life, Marie Claire Seoane didn’t know where her story began.
Inside her home hangs a painting of the woman who raised her — the adoptive mother she says gave her love and stability growing up.
But Marie was adopted as a baby.
“My mom was 19. My dad was 20. My grandparents didn’t want me to be born, so she decided to go to a convent, give birth to me, and gave me for adoption,” Seoane said.
Despite the circumstances, she says she always felt loved.
“They were the best parents. They were something else. I was very lucky and blessed,” she said.
Still, like many adoptees, questions about her biological family remained.
“You grew up with a lot of questions. Were you rejected? How are your parents are,” she said.
For years, Seoane chose not to search for answers. But a serious illness changed everything.
She was diagnosed with achalasia, a rare disorder that affects the esophagus. The condition makes it difficult for food and liquids to move into the stomach, often causing severe pain, malnutrition and weight loss.
“I have tried to accept the things and I have fight and I don’t have the energy anymore. And I get weak. I lose balance and everything,” she said.
After spending weeks in the hospital, Seoane realized time was precious.
“I was really sick. I was six weeks on the hospital,” she said.
That’s when she decided to do something she had never done before: take a DNA test.
When the results came back, they eventually led her to a woman in Canada — someone she believed could be related to her.
That woman was Natalie Billings.
“So the day that I got the text, I said to my mom, I think I found your sister,” Billings said. “So it was shocking because I did ancestry in 2008, I think, and so we didn’t find each other till 2025.”
The discovery shocked both families.
“When she sent me the picture of my dad… I just stared at it. I said, ‘Oh my God… that’s my dad,’” Seoane said.
Billings says once she learned about Seoane’s health struggles, she knew she wanted to meet her.
“I’m hoping that I can give her… I’m gonna cry… the strength to keep fighting,” Billings said. “That’s what I’m hoping that me coming here will make her fight to stay alive.”
Not long after, the two met in person for the first time.
After a lifetime of wondering about her biological family, Seoane says the reunion brought her peace.
“Finding them has been a light in my illness,” she said.
She says her newly discovered family has already become a source of strength.
“They have opened their lives, their hearts. They have taken care of me. They call me every day just to make sure that I’m okay,” she said.
Seoane hopes her story encourages others who were adopted and may be searching for answers.
“You’re not betraying your parents, your adoptive parents, but you’re finding a piece of yourself,” she said.
After everything she has been through, Seoane says reconnecting with her family has brought her comfort.
“It was like I felt at ease… after all that I have gone into pain, physical, mentally… when you’re in my situation and in my stage of the illness… I feel that peace,” she said.
