Barry Haarde
Barry Haarde was a good friend to many of us and we all celebrated his great successes. He was a champion of more battles than most people will ever understand and a hero to so many of us. Barry fought a long and hard battle when he was infected by HIV, Hepatitis C and more from the contaminated blood supply through hemophilia treatment in the 1980's.
I remember many stories he shared with me of how he loved his family dearly and while he never married, he loved life and was passionate about his friends not feeling like they were alone in their battle. While he was well known in the hemophilia community the second half of his life, he didn't start out a "hemo-lebrity". He was quiet and largely kept to himself. He didn't share his story because of the social stigma attached to HIV for many years.
But eventually he began to realize that there were guys out there just like him that had felt alone, misunderstood, and unacceptable to most, and he determined that he would go to extreme efforts to find those guys who were not connected, like he once was, and bring them into the fold.
Barry lost his older brother John early in the battle HIV and he missed him deeply. But he found belonging and a sense of brotherhood among the hemophilia community that had a similar set of experiences that he did and he made it his life mission to find every last person in hiding and introduce them to the tribe we call the hemophilia community. He cultivated a brotherhood and crossed generational boundaries by speaking to groups of patients old and young no matter how inconvenient or painful it was for him physically.
Barry Haarde wanted to make a difference in the world and while he had never been one for a lot of physical exercise, due to hemophilia, he decided biking was something he could do. Eventually, he worked up to longer distances and determined he wanted to do something significant for people whom he had the most compassion for; people without treatment in developing countries diagnosed with hemophilia. He worked with a close friend of his Laurie Kelley to raise money through a non-profit Laurie Kelley founded called Save One Life which supplies people who have no access to factor or hemophilia medications in developing countries with supplies. Barry raised tens of thousands of dollars through is Wheels of the World cross country bike campaigns. He rode thousands of miles on his bike and pushed through difficult days, internal bleeds, and great physical pain to help people that he might not ever have a chance to meet in person.
He shared a love for people that was driven by empathy and soaked in compassion. He worked, sacrificed, and suffered for people so they would not feel alone.
Barry was a kind man who never wanted anyone to feel that they had to fight their own battles alone because he knew what that was like.
Barry Haarde was a friend, a champion, a hero. I will miss him. We all will miss him.
One thing that Barry taught me that I will never forget; No one is too far out of reach to reach... all you have to do is something.
I remember many stories he shared with me of how he loved his family dearly and while he never married, he loved life and was passionate about his friends not feeling like they were alone in their battle. While he was well known in the hemophilia community the second half of his life, he didn't start out a "hemo-lebrity". He was quiet and largely kept to himself. He didn't share his story because of the social stigma attached to HIV for many years.
But eventually he began to realize that there were guys out there just like him that had felt alone, misunderstood, and unacceptable to most, and he determined that he would go to extreme efforts to find those guys who were not connected, like he once was, and bring them into the fold.
Barry lost his older brother John early in the battle HIV and he missed him deeply. But he found belonging and a sense of brotherhood among the hemophilia community that had a similar set of experiences that he did and he made it his life mission to find every last person in hiding and introduce them to the tribe we call the hemophilia community. He cultivated a brotherhood and crossed generational boundaries by speaking to groups of patients old and young no matter how inconvenient or painful it was for him physically.
Barry Haarde wanted to make a difference in the world and while he had never been one for a lot of physical exercise, due to hemophilia, he decided biking was something he could do. Eventually, he worked up to longer distances and determined he wanted to do something significant for people whom he had the most compassion for; people without treatment in developing countries diagnosed with hemophilia. He worked with a close friend of his Laurie Kelley to raise money through a non-profit Laurie Kelley founded called Save One Life which supplies people who have no access to factor or hemophilia medications in developing countries with supplies. Barry raised tens of thousands of dollars through is Wheels of the World cross country bike campaigns. He rode thousands of miles on his bike and pushed through difficult days, internal bleeds, and great physical pain to help people that he might not ever have a chance to meet in person.
He shared a love for people that was driven by empathy and soaked in compassion. He worked, sacrificed, and suffered for people so they would not feel alone.
Barry was a kind man who never wanted anyone to feel that they had to fight their own battles alone because he knew what that was like.
Barry Haarde was a friend, a champion, a hero. I will miss him. We all will miss him.
One thing that Barry taught me that I will never forget; No one is too far out of reach to reach... all you have to do is something.