HIV/AIDs warrior Hydeia Broadbent dies in sleep at 39

Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Hydeia Broadbent, one of the nation's first generation to grow up with AIDs and a respective activist who lived with HIV her entire life, died in her sleep Tuesday at the age of 39.

"With great sadness, I must inform you all that our beloved friend, mentor and daughter, Hydeia, passed away today after living with AIDs since birth," her adoptive father, Loren Broadbent, posted on Facebook Tuesday.

"Despite facing numerous challenges throughout her life, Hydeia remained determined to spread hope and positivity through education around HIV/AIDs," he said without identifying her cause of death.

Hydeia Broadbent was found abandoned at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas when she was an infant and was diagnosed with HIV when she was 3. Doctors speculated that she was born HIV-positive, NBC News and Essence reported.

Loren and Patricia Broadbent adopted her, and Patricia took Hydeia with her to public speaking events to talk about HIV. Hydeia initially only accompanied her stepmother but eventually started speaking at public events by the time she turned 6.

She famously joined NBA Hall-of-Famer Ervin "Magic" Johnson and others with HIV during a Nickelodeon special about AIDs and HIV in 1992 and inspired Johnson to be more active in raising awareness of HIV/AIDs and the people who are afflicted with the condition.

When it was her turn to speak, the young girl cried while saying: "I just want people to know we're just normal people."

Johnson later told CNN her tears caused him to do more to educate people about HIV/AIDs.

Hydeia appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Maury Povich and other television shows to raise awareness of the disease.

She also addressed the Republican National Convention in 1996 when she was 12 and read a poem that said: "I am the future, and I have AIDs. I can do anything I put my mind to. I am the next doctor. I am the next lawyer. I am the next Maya Angelou. I might even be the first woman president. You can't crush my dream. I am the future, and I have AIDs."

Hydeia and her mother in 2002 co-wrote a book about their family experience entitled, "You Get Past the Tears: A Memoir of Love and Survival."

More recently, she worked on behalf of the Magic Johnson Foundation and earned many accolades from the American Red Cross, Ebony, The Grio and Essence magazine for her efforts on behalf of those in Black communities who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDs.