OLIVETTE, Mo. - A Missouri woman met her daughter for the first time Thursday, 50 years after she was told her daughter died just after hours after she was born.

Nearly 50 years ago, shortly after giving birth at the old Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, Zella Price was told her baby died. However, the baby was alive and was adopted by a family.

Zella Jackson Price, now 76, met her daughter, Melanie Diane Gilmore, for the first time at Price’s home on Thursday.

“There’s nothing greater. There’s nothing greater than this. Nothing,” Price told KTVI.

Zella Price said she is hurt by the years of separation but is thankful for this second chance.

“(God) has given me everything the devil has taken from me,” Price said. “I’m getting it back. I’m getting my baby back.”

Gilmore lost her hearing at the age of three because of a childhood illness. This reunion is something she has wanted for a long time.

“I am just so happy…very excited,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore's children knew about their mom's wish and searched online until they found Zella.

It’s a joyful time now as family members get to know each other, but soon they will begin an investigation into what happened at the hospital.