She would first request the adoption and consent records through lawful channels and evaluate which documents could be disclosed to Tobias as an adult adoptee and to me as the birth parent.

She cautioned us not to contact former agency employees with accusations before the paperwork was reviewed.

“I also want to know whether other families were treated this way,” Tobias said.

Andrea nodded.

“That may be possible to investigate, but we’ll distinguish what we can prove from what we suspect.”

The conversation grounded me.

For years I had imagined that one perfect document might undo everything, that a judge could restore the young mother I had been.

But the young woman on that hospital bed could not be returned to me.