Social network helps student reconnect with lost father
Lucas Hrusovszky
A student recently reunited with her biological father and attended his competition in the Arizona Division of the 2010 Special Olympics.Oct. 15 marked the beginning of the Aquatics Competitions for the Special Olympics held in Surprise.
Alysha Joyner was in attendance to support her father, Mark Reynolds.
Reynolds received the bronze medal in the first round and 2 silver medals the next day.
He was cheered on and congratulated by friends and family. A triumph for Reynolds as he and Joyner reunited after 15 years.
Joyner said, “It was a really inspiring event to go to. I really enjoyed watching my father compete for the first time, seeing him excel and receiving two silver medals.”
Reynolds will also be competing in the basketball division, to be held in March 2011.
Joyner and her father lost contact with each other when she was five-years-old after a custody dispute between her parents.
Since then, she has had very little recollection of him and few leads to finding him.
“I found the name of a person who may have been related to me and could help me find my father after finding mail I had received during my birthdays.
“I never really knew who he was, but I had always felt there was something missing in my life,” Joyner said.
Through Facebook, she was able to search for the name and found a match to Nancy Eris, her grandmother on her father’s side. Joyner sent Eris a message about her father and the fact that she may be her granddaughter. A quick reply was sent and Joyner’s questions about her paternal side had finally been answered.
“It gave me a different point of view on life,” Joyner said.
It had been a struggle for her after years of not seeing her father, but her want and desire to be with the family was accomplished as she was welcomed with open arms from both her grandparents and her father.
She stated that it is something she hasn’t been able to do until now.
