1. When Ryan White tried to return to school, irate parents and teachers in Howard County rallied against his attendance due to unwarranted concerns of the disease spreading to other students and staff.
40 Facts About Ryan White
1. 2.
Surprising his doctors, Ryan White lived five years longer than predicted.
3.
Ryan White died on April 8,1990, one month before his high school graduation.
4.
Ryan White was born at St Joseph Memorial Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana, to Hubert Wayne and Jeanne Elaine White.
5.
Healthy for most of his childhood, Ryan White became extremely ill with pneumonia in December 1984.
6.
On December 17,1984, during a lung biopsy, Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS.
7.
Doctors predicted Ryan White had only six months to live.
8.
Ryan White's mother asked if he could return to school but was told by school officials that he could not.
9.
Western Middle School in Russiaville faced enormous pressure from many parents and faculty to prevent Ryan White from returning to the campus after his diagnosis became widely known.
10.
The Ryan White family filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision.
11.
When Ryan White was permitted to return to school for one day in February 1986,151 of 360 students stayed home.
12.
Ryan White worked as a paperboy, and many of the people on his route canceled their subscriptions, believing that HIV could be transmitted through newsprint.
13.
The Indiana state health commissioner, Dr Woodrow Myers, who had extensive experience treating AIDS patients in San Francisco, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both notified the board that Ryan White posed no risk to other students, but the school board and many parents ignored their statements.
14.
The publicity of Ryan White's story catapulted him into the national spotlight, amidst a growing wave of AIDS coverage in the news media.
15.
Ryan White participated in numerous public benefits for children with AIDS.
16.
Ryan White was a friend to many children with AIDS or other potentially debilitating conditions.
17.
In high school, Ryan White drove a red 1988 Ford Mustang LX 5.0, a gift from Michael Jackson.
18.
In 1988, Ryan White spoke before the President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic.
19.
Ryan White told the commission of the discrimination he had faced when he first tried to return to school, but how education about the disease had made him welcome in the town of Cicero.
20.
Ryan White emphasized his differing experiences in Kokomo and Cicero as an example of the power and importance of AIDS education.
21.
In 1989, ABC aired the television movie The Ryan White Story, starring Lukas Haas as Ryan, Judith Light as Jeanne and Nikki Cox as his sister Andrea.
22.
Ryan White had a small cameo appearance as "Chad" in the film, playing a boy who has HIV and later befriends Haas.
23.
We owe it to Ryan White to be compassionate, caring, and tolerant toward those with AIDS, their families, and friends.
24.
On March 29,1990, Ryan White entered Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis with a respiratory tract infection.
25.
Ryan White's pallbearers included Elton John, football star Howie Long and Phil Donahue.
26.
Reagan's statement about AIDS and Ryan White's funeral were seen as indicators of how greatly Ryan White had helped change perceptions of AIDS.
27.
Ryan White is buried in Cicero, close to the former home of his mother.
28.
Ryan White was one of a handful of highly visible people with AIDS in the 1980s and early 1990s who helped change the public perception of the disease.
29.
Ryan White has an incredibly moving presence as she speaks around the world.
30.
In 2000, Ryan White's mother closed the foundation, and merged its remaining assets with AIDS Action, a larger charity.
31.
Ryan White became a spokeswoman for AIDS activism and continued to arrange speaking events through the site devoted to her son, ryanwhite.
32.
Ryan White became the inspiration for a handful of popular songs.
33.
Michael Jackson dedicated the song "Gone Too Soon" from his Dangerous album to Ryan White, as did 1980s pop star Tiffany with the song "Here in My Heart" on her New Inside album.
34.
The way Ryan White lived his life continues to give me the strength and courage to do things I might not otherwise feel comfortable doing.
35.
Ryan White's diagnosis demonstrated to many that AIDS was not exclusive to homosexual men.
36.
Ryan White was seen by some as an "innocent victim" of the AIDS epidemic.
37.
The Ryan White CARE Act funds several different programs to improve availability of care for low-income, uninsured and underinsured victims of AIDS and their families.
38.
Ryan White programs are "payers of last resort," which subsidize treatment when no other resources are available.
39.
Ryan White programs provide funding and technical assistance to local and state primary medical care providers, support services, healthcare providers and training programs.
40.
The Ryan White CARE Act expired in 2013, but individual programs continue to receive congressional funding.