 Because of the lack of education on AIDS, discrimination, fear, panic, and lies surrounded me. |
| 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. |
| I came face to face with death at thirteen years old. |
| I was labeled a troublemaker, my mom an unfit mother, and I was not welcome anywhere. |
| Most recently my battle has been against AIDS and the discrimination surrounding it. |
| A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life. |
| This brought on the news media, TV crews, interviews, and numerous public appearances. |
| My studies are important to me. I made the honor role just recently, with 2 A's and 2 B's. |
| My name is Ryan White. I am sixteen years old. I have hemophilia, and I have AIDS. |
| Twice a week I would receive injections or IV's of Factor VIII which clotted the blood and then broke it down. |
| Financial hardships were rough on us, even though Mom had a good job at G.M. |
| Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic. |
| Mayor Koch, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support. |
| Entertainers, athletes, and stars started giving me support. |
| 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. |
| How could these people in the public eye not be afraid of me, but my whole town was? |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| The school I was going to said they had no guidelines for a person with AIDS. |
