At the age of 22, Sheikh’s prolonged search reached a joyous conclusion on July 28, 2016. Campbell, then 52, came across her plea and promptly reached out. The embrace they shared was two decades overdue.
“It was one of the happiest days of my life because I never stopped looking for her. I was always hopeful that someday, somehow I would find her before I finally part this world. … She is my family. I told her you’ve got siblings. Ok, we’re not blood-related but it’s like we are,” expressed Campbell.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Sheikh remarked, “I am so overwhelmed, this is unbelievable. I’ve been waiting 15 years to meet him and he’s finally here. He was the second person to hold me after my mother, it’s incredible.” The reunion instilled hope in her for a future meeting with her birth mother.
Despite being left in a London phone booth that night, Sheikh harbored no resentment or anger towards her mother for that choice. It was later revealed that two years after abandoning Sheikh, her English mother, pregnant with her eighth child, was admitted to the hospital. During her stay, she disclosed being in a violent relationship.
“Throughout her pregnancy with me, she was so scared. She didn’t get any treatment or go to the hospital. On April 30, she went into labor with me while at home. She was in labor all day, and my dad fell asleep, so she gave birth in the bathroom, completely alone. She then wrapped me up and made me really, really warm and she ran with me to the phone box,” recounted Sheikh.