ponderings 532 The Hydeia L. Broadbent Foundation on WORLD AIDS DAY Dec 1 2022

REmembering The Hydeia L. Broadbent Foundation, of Montgomery, Alabama, on WORLD AIDS DAY Dec 1 2022 [#1 of 2]

***https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126158&page=1***

One friday nite, in the Spring of 1992, zmy grandparents were in bed. back then i watched tv, and ABC’s news show, 20/20, was one of my regulars. That nite the featured story was about five-year old Hydeia Broadbent and her mother, Patricia. Hydeia was born HIV+ in June 1984. i didn’t sleep well that nite. i kept replaying scenes from Hydeia—dressed in white-–in her Friends for Life “wedding” ceremony to her friend, Tyler Small.

**Hydeia Razor Ramon Tyler**
https://www.wwe.com/article/razor-ramon-jerry-springer-intercontinental-title-20-years-later

In 1993, like the rest of the country, i was woefully ignorant about HIV & AIDS. But i knew this much: i had to help that family.

By the time i flew to NIH to meet Pat and Hydeia, i knew precisely what i would offer. TO CREATE HYDEIA’s FOUNDATION.

I’d already called Ryan White’s mom to get an idea of how a good AID’s foundation is managed. Ryan and Hydeia had become friends during their stays at NIH. Ryan passed away in april, 1990. He lived to be eighteen years old. Ryan was inspiration for passage of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, enacted August 18, 1990.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) is the largest federal program focused on HIV. The RWHAP funds HIV care and treatment services for low-income people with HIV. Many people who receive services through the RWHAP are uninsured or underserved.

So, we set out to do what no one else had done…followed thru w/promises and started Hydeia’s foundation!