Cortez Starks is Valicia and Carl's only child who doesn't have sickle cell disease. He grew up watching his sister Dominique get sicker and sicker until she died. And now, he's losing his younger brother Terrell.
Though he lives out of state, Cortez checks in daily with his family by phone -- often more than once a day. They talk about the minutae of life, like what they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner and what they did that day. They laugh about memories. They stay close and connected.
Sam and I listened in on a call. The family sat around the den and took turns speaking to Cortez on the speaker phone. Often, that's what they do; the phone sits in the middle of the room like Cortez is in there with everybody else.
After they talked about their days, I interviewed Cortez, first asking him about how he copes with his brother's impending death when he's not living with the family.
"It is rough. Some days are worse than the others," he said, adding that he thinks about Terrell all the time."I always wanted my brother to be my roommate."
"Me, too," Terrell chimed in.
Cortez called Terrell "probably the strongest person I know."
But the family's journey has made Cortez strong, too.
When Cortez was a teenager, he was the only one strong enough for athletics. Every time he played -- every time he won -- it was a victory for Terrell and Dominique as well as himself. He was carrying the dreams of all three children.
In many ways, I thought, he still is.
Laura Ungar has been the Courier-Journal's medical writer since 2004. Major projects have examined Kentucky's poor health, black lung disease, cervical cancer in India and the health insurance crisis among America's middle class. You can follow her series on 
Sam Upshaw, 46, of Louisville, has been a photographer with The Courier-Journal for 22 years. In addition to covering the community on a daily basis, he has visually documented Muhammad Ali, Kentucky's poor health, the University of Louisville's win at the Orange Bowl in Miami and Hurricane Ivan in Florida. Spending time with Terrell, he is inspired by the young man's strength and wisdom, which helps put life's little inconveniences in perspective.
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