'It was so beautiful': Polio survivor, 87, whose mother gave her up as a child has emotional FIRST meeting with her brother - after her 19-year-old great-granddaughter tracked him down

  • Betty Housseal contracted polio when she was one and was sent to live with relatives and in hospitals
  • The Pennsylvania resident was one of 14 children and remains disabled
  • Her youngest brother, now 79, was adopted at birth and she never met him
  • Recently Betty's great-granddaughter, 19-year-old Brianna Nelson, found him online and set up a meeting
  • She recorded the emotional moment and told DailyMail.com the siblings have kept in touch 

An 87-year-old polio survivor finally got to meet her youngest brother for the first time nearly eight decades after he was put up for adoption. 

Pennsylvania resident Betty Housseal never got the chance to get to know her 79-year-old brother, who was adopted out shortly after birth while Betty was living elsewhere due to her disability.

Knowing how much it would mean to her, Betty's great-granddaughter Brianna Nelson, 19, tracked down her brother online, arranged a meeting, and recorded the heartwarming moment the two siblings got to share their first hug.  

What a day! Betty Housseal, 87, met her 79-year-old brother for the first time recently

What a day! Betty Housseal, 87, met her 79-year-old brother for the first time recently

Betty was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1932. When she was just a year old, she contracted polio, marking one of the earliest cases of the disease in the country.

Sweet: Betty's great-granddaughter, 19-year-old Brianna Nelson, found him online and set up a meeting

Sweet: Betty's great-granddaughter, 19-year-old Brianna Nelson, found him online and set up a meeting

Betty was number 11 of 14 children, and her mother 'didn't really have the time or the means to take care of a child with a disability like polio,' Brianna explained on YouTube.

That meant Betty spent her childhood moving around from house to house, living with relatives in Pennsylvania and Ohio and also spending time at a children's hospital.

Almost a decade after Betty was born, her mother had her last child, a little boy who was put up for adoption. 

Though she and her brother, who was named Cordell Eugene Dawson by his adoptive family, spent time living down the street from one another, Betty was not allowed to talk to him while growing up.

Sad: Betty was number 11 of 14 children, and her mother didn't 'have the time or the means to take care of a child with a disability like polio,' so she went to live with extended family

Sad: Betty was number 11 of 14 children, and her mother didn't 'have the time or the means to take care of a child with a disability like polio,' so she went to live with extended family

Separated: Her younger brother was put up for adoption shortly after birth, so Betty never got the chance to meet him

Separated: Her younger brother was put up for adoption shortly after birth, so Betty never got the chance to meet him

Struck by the separation, Brianna used the internet to track Cordell down — and now, nearly eight decades later, he and Betty have met for the first time.

'I decided to find her brother because I knew it would mean the world to her,' Brianna told DailyMail.com. 

Living so far away from her family, it was 'hard [for her] to form relationships with her brothers and sisters. I knew she would love to have that relationship with her brother, especially because he is the only sibling still living.'

She tracked him down secretly and waited until he responded to let Betty in on the good news. 

'She was scared he wouldn't want to get to know her because of her disability,' she said. But when she found out that her brother wanted to meet her, 'She was so shocked and we both started to cry. It was so beautiful!'

Heartwarming: They recently met at a diner and the emotional moment was caught on camera

Heartwarming: They recently met at a diner and the emotional moment was caught on camera

Adorable: Brianna said when her great-grandma found out she'd be meeting her brother, 'She was so shocked and we both started to cry. It was so beautiful!'

Adorable: Brianna said when her great-grandma found out she'd be meeting her brother, 'She was so shocked and we both started to cry. It was so beautiful!'

In video Brianna recorded that day, Betty is seeing using a walker to slowly move to the car. Brianna explained that Betty's left leg is a few inches shorter than her right due to surgeries she had for her disease.

She looks excited as she rides in the back, and is still tittering at the diner as she awaits the arrival of the brother she never met.

Eventually, they see him, and Betty stands as he walks over. 

'Am I at the right table?' he asks. She replies: 'Yes you are.' 

The two hugged and seemed overwhelmed by the emotional moment, and later smiled for a picture together.  

The siblings have kept in touch since the meeting and are hoping to see one another again soon.

Flashback: Betty is pictured at age 17. She contracted polio at age one and, due to surgeries, was left disabled with legs of different lengths

Flashback: Betty is pictured at age 17. She contracted polio at age one and, due to surgeries, was left disabled with legs of different lengths

All about family: Betty (pictured with Brianna) has kept in touch with her brother and the two hope to see each other again

All about family: Betty (pictured with Brianna) has kept in touch with her brother and the two hope to see each other again

'They keep in contact still and we are in the works of hopefully arranging another time to get together,' Brianna said. 'They both have limited mobility which makes it hard, but it is well worth all the work.'

Since Brianna shared her video on YouTube in February, Betty's story has been published in outlets all over the world, including Spain, Finland, and Germany

'She loves hearing about all the countries that have heard her story! She has never been out of the country since flying with a disability wasn't easy back when she was young, so hearing from other people is so amazing!' Brianna said.

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