The Extraordinary Courage of Cornelius Abraham by Bob Greene in Reader's Digest March 2001.
Cornelius's birth mother allowed her boy friend to abuse and torture her second son Lattie until death. At the post mortem, the poor boy had pneumonia, a broken collar bone and a broken pelvis. There was repeated beating, burning with lighted cigarette and a hot iron. The deceased was stuck many times with sewing needles, he was dunked in scalding water until the flesh was raw. The boy was four years old.
Cornelius had undergone some of the same torture himself, but somehow he had survived. Although he was not able to stop his brother from being murdered, he was able to stand as a witness in court to convict the offenders. After the two perpetrators were locked up, Cornelius went into foster care. He finished secondary school and was accepted at Northern Illinois University. Much of his healing had come with the help of the YMCA Network for Counselling and Youth Development of Greater Chicagoland. His foster parents were Ingra and Dwayne Cooper.
Whatever Cornelius achieved, it is done in spite of his tragic past. It showed the resilience of his spirit. Until he was eight, all circumstances were against him. Those who were supposed to love and care for him actually turned against him and his brother. Cornelius Abraham is the proof that hope is always there for an over comer.
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