I am the 6th of 7 kids. I'm close to being the baby and not close enough to be the middle child. The early years of my life consist of memories of a cramped household and plenty of love to go around. My oldest brother is 13 years older then me and was moved out by the time I was in grade school. Then my 2nd oldest brother went to college not long afterwards.
My first struggle in life came at a young age, but only the beginning of many. On December 5th 1985 my parents got the worst possible news. My baby brother Cory was diagnosed with cancer, AML Leukemia. Most of my memories I have of this are very a blur. I can remember not ever really fully understanding. I was 6 years old and had no idea the extent of this disease. All I knew was that it was serious and my brother was really sick.
As I got older I can remember my mom telling me that Cory (my baby brother) would complain about severe back pain. Mom would watch him walk down the hallway with major issue. He couldn't walk straight, veering back and forth. The cancer was wrapped around his spine. More and more stories I learned about in the years after. The strength of my parents would have to contend with this horrible disease and hold a family together at the same time..... to be continued
