Daughter finds Dad after 14 yrs
Hello all,
In April 2011 I received a message on Facebook that could not have reached me in any other way other than through the dynamics of social media. At best, the message was surprising and life altering. It announced my parenthood of an adolescent daughter in Milan, Italy, that up until the time of my reading the message, I absolutely did not know existed.
The message was from a woman that I had not heard from for more than 15 years. We soon lost contact after the brief time we spent together in Milan where she was living when I vacationed there in the summer of 1997.
After her initial contact with me on Facebook and confirmation of my idenity, she sent me the following message:
“Dennis, I am so sorry to bother you and am not asking for anything. My daughter is simply asking who her father is.”.
This message wasn’t just from a woman a world away in my distant past; it was now a message from the mother of an ever present daughter of mine that I did not know even existed!
My reaction was typical, I suppose... I experienced overwhelming emotional feelings of disbelief, anger, grief and sadness. Those emotions progressed to destressful questioning and self examination that eventually brought me to my current state of peace and thankfulness. Unfortunately, I have yet to experience the joy and happiness that I know will come when I actually meet my daughter.
I have lived with the burning desire to see and get to know my daughter since she and her mother reached out to me on Facebook two years ago when she was l4 years old. I have loved her since my awareness of her, but I know there is no substitute for a father to show his love for his children that is more relevant than that of being ever present in their lives. I want and need to be that presence in my daughter’s life.
Facebook provided the technology for my daughter to find me in a matter of minutes with only a few clicks on a keyboard. For this I am truely grateful, however I was not able to express immediate gratitude with a physical embrace because I did not, and still do not have the financial means to go to Italy, or to bring my daughter to the United States.
My daughter and I obviously have a slight language barrier but we are able to communicate quite well on Facebook in Italian as it has become my new second language that I am learning through Rosetta Stone’s course. However it doesn’t quill the desire we both have to meet each other in person one day. She even wants to move to the United States and I hope I can make it possible. Unfortunately, for us to meet in person has been a very frustrating and complicated process, to date.
When my daughter filed for a vacation visa to visit me here in the United States, the Italian Consulate declined her application. Despite my struggled with the United States Embassy and the Italian Consulate, and my spending much time and energy filling out applications, paying for notaries, and waiting for email responses for months at a time, there is always some glitch that keeps making it impossible for my daughter to come to the United States.
The most insurmountable problem is that Italian law will not acknowledge me as her biological father since my name is not recorded on her birth certificate. The Italian Consulate has informed me that even though I have done DNA testing that has confirmed me as her biological father, it does not matter and there is nothing that they, or I can do until my name is added to the birth certificate through court proceedings.
I have wanted nothing more than to get on an air plane and fly to Milan Italy to finally meet my daughter after all these years but to do so requires funds. I do not have and just haven’t been able to save the funds in order to get to Milan. Like many people here in the States I have fallen on hard times, after loosing my job and home five years ago. It has been a continuous struggle to get ahead financially inspite of my galiant efforts. I still have very little money in my savings account.
I have a beautiful family here in Los Angeles; a wife, a four year old son, a six weeks old daughter and a dog that I am providing for. I'm working several jobs that pay just enough for me to make ends meet here and send my now 16 year-old daughter the money she needs for things related to her schooling in Milan.
This was one topic of conversation that I was having with a friend that told me about gofundme and how it might help me travel to Italy to meet my soon to be seventeen year old daughter.
After being told about gofundme by this friend, I thought I would give it a shot. It is my greatest hope and desire to surprise my daughter in Milan, Italy on her 17th birthday which is on April 9, 2015; six months from now. I am asking for help to pay the cost of a round trip ticket to Milan Italy, the cost of one week of room, board, food, public transportation and possible legal expenses. A total of $3,500.00. If I can reach this goal I will of course be delighted and any thing above this amount would be most welcomed and appreciated as it can be used in the event that I have to stay in Italy longer to handle such legal issues as recording my name on my daughter’s birth certificate.
This is truly a Facebook story of how my daughter, at 14 years of age found me; her biological father, who had no idea that she even existed until that fateful day in April, 2011. Please help me meet my daughter so we can start the loving father-daughter relationship that has eluded us for all these years. Thank you and God bless. I am so profoundly proud of my daughter for finding me on face book!
Sincerely,
Dennis Larios
In April 2011 I received a message on Facebook that could not have reached me in any other way other than through the dynamics of social media. At best, the message was surprising and life altering. It announced my parenthood of an adolescent daughter in Milan, Italy, that up until the time of my reading the message, I absolutely did not know existed.
The message was from a woman that I had not heard from for more than 15 years. We soon lost contact after the brief time we spent together in Milan where she was living when I vacationed there in the summer of 1997.
After her initial contact with me on Facebook and confirmation of my idenity, she sent me the following message:
“Dennis, I am so sorry to bother you and am not asking for anything. My daughter is simply asking who her father is.”.
This message wasn’t just from a woman a world away in my distant past; it was now a message from the mother of an ever present daughter of mine that I did not know even existed!
My reaction was typical, I suppose... I experienced overwhelming emotional feelings of disbelief, anger, grief and sadness. Those emotions progressed to destressful questioning and self examination that eventually brought me to my current state of peace and thankfulness. Unfortunately, I have yet to experience the joy and happiness that I know will come when I actually meet my daughter.
I have lived with the burning desire to see and get to know my daughter since she and her mother reached out to me on Facebook two years ago when she was l4 years old. I have loved her since my awareness of her, but I know there is no substitute for a father to show his love for his children that is more relevant than that of being ever present in their lives. I want and need to be that presence in my daughter’s life.
Facebook provided the technology for my daughter to find me in a matter of minutes with only a few clicks on a keyboard. For this I am truely grateful, however I was not able to express immediate gratitude with a physical embrace because I did not, and still do not have the financial means to go to Italy, or to bring my daughter to the United States.
My daughter and I obviously have a slight language barrier but we are able to communicate quite well on Facebook in Italian as it has become my new second language that I am learning through Rosetta Stone’s course. However it doesn’t quill the desire we both have to meet each other in person one day. She even wants to move to the United States and I hope I can make it possible. Unfortunately, for us to meet in person has been a very frustrating and complicated process, to date.
When my daughter filed for a vacation visa to visit me here in the United States, the Italian Consulate declined her application. Despite my struggled with the United States Embassy and the Italian Consulate, and my spending much time and energy filling out applications, paying for notaries, and waiting for email responses for months at a time, there is always some glitch that keeps making it impossible for my daughter to come to the United States.
The most insurmountable problem is that Italian law will not acknowledge me as her biological father since my name is not recorded on her birth certificate. The Italian Consulate has informed me that even though I have done DNA testing that has confirmed me as her biological father, it does not matter and there is nothing that they, or I can do until my name is added to the birth certificate through court proceedings.
I have wanted nothing more than to get on an air plane and fly to Milan Italy to finally meet my daughter after all these years but to do so requires funds. I do not have and just haven’t been able to save the funds in order to get to Milan. Like many people here in the States I have fallen on hard times, after loosing my job and home five years ago. It has been a continuous struggle to get ahead financially inspite of my galiant efforts. I still have very little money in my savings account.
I have a beautiful family here in Los Angeles; a wife, a four year old son, a six weeks old daughter and a dog that I am providing for. I'm working several jobs that pay just enough for me to make ends meet here and send my now 16 year-old daughter the money she needs for things related to her schooling in Milan.
This was one topic of conversation that I was having with a friend that told me about gofundme and how it might help me travel to Italy to meet my soon to be seventeen year old daughter.
After being told about gofundme by this friend, I thought I would give it a shot. It is my greatest hope and desire to surprise my daughter in Milan, Italy on her 17th birthday which is on April 9, 2015; six months from now. I am asking for help to pay the cost of a round trip ticket to Milan Italy, the cost of one week of room, board, food, public transportation and possible legal expenses. A total of $3,500.00. If I can reach this goal I will of course be delighted and any thing above this amount would be most welcomed and appreciated as it can be used in the event that I have to stay in Italy longer to handle such legal issues as recording my name on my daughter’s birth certificate.
This is truly a Facebook story of how my daughter, at 14 years of age found me; her biological father, who had no idea that she even existed until that fateful day in April, 2011. Please help me meet my daughter so we can start the loving father-daughter relationship that has eluded us for all these years. Thank you and God bless. I am so profoundly proud of my daughter for finding me on face book!
Sincerely,
Dennis Larios
Organizer
Dennis Larios
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA