Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC               April 20, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1979)

Beth Nischik
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 01-78

NASA AND HED FOUNDATION PROVIDE
CHILD'S FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY SPRING

     For eight years, a Texas boy has lived his life in darkened 
rooms, his body not able to  tolerate direct sunlight. Even 
bright indoor light endangers his delicate skin and can raise 
his body temperature to deadly levels. However, on April 23, 
Cardi Hicks gets to do something he's never done before -- 
play outside.

Hicks, who lives in Magnolia, about an hour outside of 
Houston, suffers from four rare skin diseases that force him 
to stay out of the Sun and its potentially harmful ultraviolet 
light.

That all changes Monday, with the help of technology from 
NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, TX, and the 
Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED) Foundation and Related 
Disorders, Hampton, VA. Cardi will receive a special UV-
protection suit that was developed from space-based 
technology. The suit allows him to go outside protected from 
harmful light.

The protective suit includes a white jacket, pants, gloves and 
headgear, including goggles. The external garments protect the 
child's sensitive skin from more than 99.9 percent of the 
Sun's hazardous UV rays. 

Underneath the protective Earth-bound spacesuit, the child 
wears a small cooling support system, necessary because full-
body UV suits can get warm. The cooling unit has no moving 
parts, using four gel packs in a vest-like garment. The gel 
packs can supply cooling for two to four hours and can be 
recharged in a refrigerator in about 30 minutes.

Through an agreement with JSC's Office of Technology Transfer 
and Commercialization, NASA and the HED organization have 
worked together since 1997 providing suits to children who 
need them. The suits are designed to cost under $2,000 and are 
now available in various colors. With the suits many families, 
after years of having to deal with the restrictions of a 
child's condition, can live more normal lives.

The organization began in 1986, when HED foundation founder 
and president Sarah Moody sought help from NASA's Langley 
Research Center, Hampton, VA, in finding a cooling garment for 
her nephew, who suffered from HED. Victims of HED lack sweat 
glands, which can lead to heat stroke, heat exhaustion and 
even death. The foundation also provides cooling garments to 
children with Multiple Sclerosis, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy 
and other disorders.

In 1997, JSC, seeking a broader use for spacesuit technology, 
offered Moody the concept for the UV-protection garment and a 
fashion model donated money to the foundation. Word spread and 
more donations came from other sources.

The first three suits distributed were prototypes provided by 
NASA. The foundation has provided more than 15 additional UV 
suits. Cardi and his family will receive the special suit at 
10:30 a.m. EDT in Room 201 at Regents Park, Houston, TX.

For more information, contact the HED Foundation at Box 9421, 
Hampton, VA, 23670, or on the Internet at:

               http://www.hedfoundation.org

                            -end-

Note to Editors: Reporters who want to attend the UV suit-
presentation event should contact Beth Nischik at the JSC 
newsroom on 281/483-5111 for additional details.