"I am the future and I have AIDS."

Have you ever heard of Hydeia Broadbent?

She was born in 1984. Her mother was an addict. And she also was HIV-positive.

Hydeia inherited HIV from her mother in utero, at a time when the general consensus about HIV was that it was transmitted by risky sexual behaviors or tainted needles.

Hydeia was the first of a generation of babies in the 1980s to be born and grow up with HIV. (By the way, on Thursday, read about a new breakthrough in HIV testing for infants and children!) She was a test baby for pediatric HIV medicines. Her survival, along with the survival of thousands of other HIV+ infants, demonstrated that with the proper treatment, HIV doesn't have to be a death sentence.

Today, Hydeia is an HIV/AIDS activist, working to support young women who have the disease. Her mission is to "show the world that HIV can happen to anyone."