Ryan White Case

This is a story about a boy named Ryan White who was diagnosed with pneumocystis pneumonia back in 1984, which doctors soon would discover was caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which led to his diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) all at age thirteen. Ryan contracted the virus through tainted blood products for his hemophilia. Ryan never wanted to be treated differently. He just wanted a normal life, but that isn't what he got. Ryan's community treated him with much prejudice he couldn't even go to the local grocery store because strangers would accuse him of spitting on the vegetables. He had to fight for the right to go back to school. Ultimately, Ryan was instrumental in getting Congress to pass laws for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Ryan came face to face with a lot of prejudice. Parishioners in his own church didn't want to use the same bathroom that Ryan used, parents would shoo their children away from Ryan as he would leave church. Kids would make up Ryan White jokes, and his own girlfriend Kris, was told by her parents that she was no longer allowed to hang around with Ryan. But, he didn't let any of this discourage him. He just told himself, let's not waste time. I hadn't got any to waste. White, R., Cunningham. A., (1991) MY OWN STORY, Dial Books, New York, New York,10014

Now, all Ryan wanted to do was focus on going back to school, but as Ryan would soon learn from his mom, Jeanne, they didn't want Ryan back. Everyone was afraid they would catch Ryan's AIDS. He was determined to fight and hired a lawyer, Mr. Vaughn, to help with his fight. They were going to sue the school board. It would be a lengthy battle, constant ridicule from strangers, the media, and Ryan's so called friends. There would be countless court hearings that resulted in a two-way speaker phone hookup between Ryan's teacher at school and Ryan from his bedroom at home. This was confusing and frustrating to Ryan because the phone speaker would fade in and out and he decided that he didn't want to do it; and after a lot of thought the family decided to move to Cicero, Indiana. The whole community welcomed Ryan and his family with open arms because they knew that they couldn't get HIV/AIDS from casual contact. Ryan was back in school, and very happy.

Ryan became a celebrity after suing the school board. He became the new face for HIV/AIDS. Ryan would speak publicly advocating for more HIV/AIDS research and funding, including before Congress. His actions paid off for hundreds of thousands of people because Congress passed The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency (CARE) Act on August 18, 1990 CARE was reauthorized in 1996, 2000, and 2006.

Ryan was a brave boy, and a fighter. He faced a deadly disease