B.C. woman abandoned on hospital doorstep searches for parents one last time

JanetKeallhas spent her entire life looking for her biological parents and she is giving it herall onelast time before putting the searchto rest for good.

She'slaunched awebsiteand is hoping the power of social media can finallyhelp track down herparents.

It was October 14, 1977 when acomplete stranger found her wrapped in only a blanket, abandonedon the back doorstepsoutside of a hospital in Prince Rupert, B.C.

"From there I was brought into the hospital, checked out and I lived there in a home until I was adopted," shesaid.

The man who found her hadstepped out to smoke a cigarettewhile his oldest son was being treated for a fever at the same hospital.

"He walks around and sees this 70's type bedspread kind of moving ever soslightly and figured it must be a bunch of cats and goes over there and what does he see? He sees me, naked inside this bedspread,"Keallsaid.

"It was quite an emotional experience for him."

Mystery still remains

WhileKeallsaid she has come to terms with being abandoned, she still feels a void.

She wonders what her parents look like, what their names are and even what her name would've been.

"With each birthday, with eachChristmasit's like, 'Are they thinking about me?' I am thinking about them," she said.

"What a luxury most people have.You know where you come from and you know your mom and dad are alive and well and they live right down the street."

'Running from yourself'

Keall now lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and she's the mother of two boys. She isan advocate for others who have been abandoned.

She said being abandoned conjures up feelings of being unwanted.

"That you're this alien that dropped out of the sky and you're not really supposed to live."

It's a feelingthat if not dealt withcan be self-destructive andlead to alcoholism,bankruptcy anddivorce, she says.

"You are reallyrunning from yourself."

Keallhas helped others find peace and said she also sympathizes with parents who have abandonedtheir kids.

"They aredesperatethat they have to do this. I want these people to come forward, but also feel compassion for them."

With files from CBC's Daybreak North

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