Team Courtney…memories of Taking Action in Summer 2010!

 

 

“ My name is Rhonda Braddy and I was running in the 5K for a close friend Courtney Leigh Hewitt and other friends who I’ve lost to PML and/or HIV/AIDS; and those who are still living with HIV. I have attached a few pictures from the Aids Walk_2010 in Washington, D.C. this past Saturday.

 

In a summary who is Courtney?

 

Courtney was my friend who passed away of a disease called PML-progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare viral disease that affects certain areas of the brain that control speech and motor skills. Pml attacks individuals with low immune systems, particularly those with HIV, which was the case with Courtney. The virus that actually causes PML is caused the JC Virus and is derived from the Chickenpox. Anyone who has ever had the Chickenpox is highly susceptible to contracting PML. People with MS, certain forms of cancer and organ transplant recipients too can be affected!

 

 

Courtney, a remarkable woman and friend and even after her death, her story needs to be told, as it is quite a story!

 

 

Courtney was always seeking to care for people and make the world a better place and even in her death by telling her story of how she was infected with HIV through her battle of one misdiagnosis after another she’s still helping people by getting her story out there so others don’t have to go through what she did. Courtney was not only a great friend but she was daughter, a sister and a loving mother to four beautiful children who are now being raised by her father and his partner Hubert. She found out she was HIV+ when she became pregnant with her youngest daughter, Claudia in 2000.

 

I wanted to do something in her memory and in her honor for her children, Chloe’, Kylie, Claudia and Alex so I decided to participate in the,” Aids Walk 2010“, and help,”Raise Global Awareness of PML“. This way I could make thousands of people aware of her story hopefully doing it justice that it Courtney so richly deserves! In doing this I could also show love and support for everyone that was close to me who have succumb to HIV/Aids.

 

The best person to tell you her story in more detail would be her father Todd Hewitt, he is also the author of the book, “Courtney’s Story“, which chronicles her battle with PML.

 

A little bit about why I chose AIDS Walk Washington to run my very first 5K. I have been overweight all of my adult life and had watched the news or advertisements about upcoming races and always thought “I’d love to do that ‘one day’ when I get skinny”.

 

In 2007 after being tired of being overweight & out of shape,  I decided to start losing weight. I was a huge fan of the show The Biggest Loser and it inspired me to start this journey. The first thing on my list of things I want to do when I get “skinny” was run a 5K; but, I wanted it to be one that supported that AIDS Movement because it’s a cause near and dear to my heart.

 

It was an on/off process of weight loss I had lost 50 lbs but roller coastered to today, I’ve lost 30 lbs . I was living in Washington State at the time. I moved here in Oct ’08 but had missed the walk. Last year I did the 5K walk portion and at the end of the walk had decided that I was going to work really hard and next year run it instead. Long story short, I continued to yo-yo again until Feb when I auditioned for The Biggest Loser when they were here in DC.

 

After going through the audition process and not making it on the show, it sparked a fire in me that I became more determined than ever that THIS was going to be my year to run my first 5K; and I knew the AIDS Walk Washington was going to be the one I did it for. I worked really hard and Saturday I ran my very 1st 5K run and it’s one I’ll never forget because of the people I was running for. I certainly wasn’t the fastest one out there but I was definitely probably the happiest one out there, because I conquered something I always wanted to do but also because I was able to help get Courtney’s Story out there and also honor my friends lives as well. “

 

 

For information regarding Courtney and her battle with PML please feel free to contact her father: Todd Hewitt, at [email protected] or by phone at (321) 388-1952 or alternate email: [email protected].

 

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Rhonda Braddy

Arlington, Virginia