Ryan White

Given six months to live and being the fighter that I am, I set high goals for myself.

Twice a week I would receive injections or IV's of Factor VIII which clotted the blood and then broke it down.

Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic.

Because of the lack of education on AIDS, discrimination, fear, panic, and lies surrounded me.

Mayor Koch, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support.

Most recently my battle has been against AIDS and the discrimination surrounding it.

Eventually, I won the right to attend school, but the prejudice was still there.

I was labeled a troublemaker, my mom an unfit mother, and I was not welcome anywhere.

My family and I held no hatred for those people because we realized they were victims of their own ignorance.

I received thousands of letters of support from all around the world, all because I wanted to go to school.

My studies are important to me. I made the honor role just recently, with 2 A's and 2 B's.

Listening to medical facts was not enough. People wanted one hundred percent guarantees.

The first five to six years of my life were spent in and out of the hospital.

We began a series of court battles for nine months, while I was attending classes by telephone.

Entertainers, athletes, and stars started giving me support.

How could these people in the public eye not be afraid of me, but my whole town was?

This brought on the news media, TV crews, interviews, and numerous public appearances.

I came face to face with death at thirteen years old.

I believe in myself as I look forward to graduating from Hamilton Heights High School in 1991.

AIDS can destroy a family if you let it, but luckily for my sister and me, Mom taught us to keep going. Don't give up, be proud of who you are, and never feel sorry for yourself.

We had great faith that with patience, understanding, and education, that my family and I could be helpful in changing their minds and attitudes around.

People would get up and leave so they would not have to sit anywhere near me.

My name is Ryan White. I am sixteen years old. I have hemophilia, and I have AIDS.

Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

Financial hardships were rough on us, even though Mom had a good job at G.M.

A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life.

On December 17, 1984, I had surgery to remove two inches of my left lung due to pneumonia. After two hours of surgery the doctors told my mother I had AIDS.

The desire to move into a bigger house, to avoid living AIDS daily, and a dream to be accepted by a community and school, became possible and a reality with a movie about my life, The Ryan White Story.

I'm just one of the kids, and all because the students at Hamilton Heights High School listened to the facts, educated their parents and themselves, and believed in me.

The school I was going to said they had no guidelines for a person with AIDS.