Hydeia Gets a New Chance at Life
Abandoned at only 6 weeks old, Hydeia was adopted by a loving family. When she was 3, her family received a frightening call urging them to get Hydeia tested for HIV. A woman presumed to be her birth mother had just given birth to a baby boy, and both had tested positive for the newly discovered virus.
Two weeks later, her devastated parents learned Hydeia, too, was HIV positive. At the time, an HIV infection was a death sentence, and the little girl was expected to die of AIDS by age 5. Ready to do anything to save their baby daughter’s life, the family brought Hydeia to NIH to participate in promising HIV treatment trials.
Already, Hydeia’s health was fragile, and despite experimental medication, her family was called to say their last good-byes. However, Hydeia pulled through. Medication that later would become known as the famous AIDS cocktails not only saved her life but the lives of countless others.
A confident public speaker, Hydeia became one of the youngest HIV/AIDS activists at only 6 years old. Her appearances on Oprah and other talk shows launched her career. Today, the now 36-year-old continues to speak out about HIV/AIDS. Her main message is that while HIV is no longer a death sentence, it is a life sentence—a lifelong struggle for insurance, affordable and effective medication, and possibly the hardest of all, acceptance. Hydeia’s greatest hope is that clinical research will bring about a cure in the near future.
“When you think of The Children’s Inn, it’s a place that needs support. It’s really good for the mental health of the kids to be able to go there and have a home environment and your room. Some families you can bond with who go through the same experiences you go through.”
HIV/AIDS Research
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and NCI research led to antiretroviral drugs. These drugs have turned an HIV diagnosis into a manageable condition, allowing generations of people like Hydeia to live longer lives in better health, start healthy families and see their children grow up. The NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) coordinates HIV/AIDS research across NIH, which provides the largest public investment in HIV/AIDS research globally to reduce infection rates, improve therapies, address infection complications, conduct research toward an HIV cure and more. Learn more about OAR’s efforts to find a cure.