An Alberta man was reunited with his mother at the Calgary airport on Wednesday 34 years after she gave him up for adoption.

Tregg Schneider has been trying to track down his birth mother, Yvette Arcos, for years.

Arcos gave birth to Schneider when she was 20 years old and had no way of caring for the baby so she gave him up for private adoption. 

Schneider, 34, has always wondered about her and managed to track her down in Moncton, New Brunswick.

“I knew she was out there. I didn’t know where she was or obviously who she was,” said Schneider. “When the Alberta government opened up their registries so you could find out who your child went to or who your mother was, I applied with them and got her name and pretty much the same day, I went on Facebook, plugged her name in and there she was.”

He says he knew it was her as soon as he saw her face.

“I instantly knew it was her because of the eyes. She has identical eyes to me and her facial features are pretty close to the same and I instantly knew and I was overwhelmed,” said Schneider.

Schneider messaged her saying he was from her past and asked for her phone number. “I called her the very next day and she said I don’t remember Tregg Schneider and I said well my birth name was Jamie Christopher Arcos and I heard the phone hit the ground. She knew exactly who I was.”

“I just pushed my chair back from my computer and I was really ecstatic and excited and I saw his blue eyes and he’s my boy, yep” said Arcos.

The two have been emailing and talking on the phone ever since but have never met face-to-face.

That all changed when Arcos’ employer offered to pay for the flight.

“I have to say a very big thank you to my boss and owner of the company I work for, he had gone through a similar thing, his was only ten to fifteen span where he didn’t see his one child and he kind of related to it and he did say that to me and said that’s why he wanted to make sure that I had the chance and that’s how I got my round trip ticket is from him and his wife,” said Arcos.

Air Canada also stepped up and put her on an earlier flight.

“It’s uplifted me so much. Now it seems like I have a better outlook on life and what I’m supposed to do in life and it’s just exciting,” said Arcos.

Arcos says she now knows what it’s like to have a family of her own. “I’ve never really had the privilege of feeling how a family really feels and how it is to have a family and now I do.”

Schneider says he has waited a long time for this and that he is grateful for the support of his adopted family.

“I’m very happy that she adopted me out. My mom and dad, Grant and Sandra, are amazing parents and I don’t know what I would do without them,” said Schneider. “This was 34 years in the making and I know we’re going to have one heck of a good time this week.”

Arcos, Schneider and the extended family are all getting together on Wednesday night for a special dinner so everyone can get to know each other.

(With files from Bridget Brown)