March 13, 1977 Cory was born. I went to my grandparents house, 8 hours away, when he was born and was so excited to be brought back home so that I could meet my little brother. This little guy was a fighter from the beginning! Right away he was a survivor and beat all odds.

He was born at Walter Reed Hospital, we lived in Ft. Meade MD at the time. When my mother went into labor things went sideways. This was a teaching hospital. I remember my mother telling us that the cord was wrapped around my brothers neck and as they were delivering him, he turned blue and couldn't breathe. My mother was very scared and worried. Yet, Cory fought and fought hard and made it out of the immediate danger, within hours of being born.

Most of you knew Cory as an adult, he was just as carefree and free of fear when he was younger. He would take risks...like riding his bike at age 3 down the hill behind our house.  It didn't matter what it was, this little one had no fear! NONE and as you all know...not much changed as he grew older.

We knew that if he could survive that - he could survive anything. Little did we know what was going to be ahead of him or us. Cory and I were always close, we looked after each other - in our own ways. Cory loved to play, he loved to be with me doing fun stuff - when we were little he was right by my side, most of the time. Riding big wheels, holiday fun, or watching "Eight is Enough."  He was my shadow...how things were also so sideways with as much as we were together, I will never really quite know, what I do know is a love that we had as siblings - would ride us through some really hard times.

Stay tuned for more....
"Being quiet and hidden is no longer an option." - Pennie

(this picture is Cory at 13 months.)

My brother's angelversary is about a month away. I have been contemplating this date for a few weeks now. I find the gaps in time, from when I last wrote a blog, to today becomes further and further apart. Maybe I am tiring of it, maybe there isn't anything to say, or maybe, just maybe - the right thing to say - hasn't come yet.

I have decided though, over the course of the next 30+ days or so, I am going to share memories of my brother through writings here, his art, his writings, and my reflections. 

I hope for one thing - I hope you will see what many didn't see and at times I DIDN'T SEE. I hope you get to know the complex man, whose brain was frozen at times, as a little boy. A little boy with no control over what was happening in his life, to his body, mind, or soul. I hope that you see the true HERO he was and that you will know him deeper and more intimately, as we head into a year of him finally being at PEACE.

Hug your siblings - as they won't always be here, don't take advantage, don't try and fix them....stop listen, ask, and be intentional and REALLY TRULY get to know them, at a level no one else does. 

More to come...I hope you will be here and join me. 

No longer is the time to be quiet and hidden.
His suffering will never being in vain.

Dedicated to Cory T Barker, the man, the myth, the legend.

xo
​Pennie