RYAN WHITE
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'Ryan Wayne White' (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was a young man with AIDS from Kokomo, Indiana. In the 1980s, he drew national and worldwide attention due to his infection.
White became infected with HIV from a blood product known as Factor VIII, as part of his treatment for hemophilia given to him on a regular basis. He was diagnosed with AIDS on December 17, 1984, by a doctor performing a partial lung removal.
Ryan White was born on December 6, 1971 at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana to Jeanne Elaine (Hale) and Hubert Wayne White. When he was 6 days old, doctors diagnosed him with severe hemophilia, a hereditary genetic illness that prevents blood from clotting, and causes minor injuries to lead to severe bleeding. To treat the disorder, he would receive transfusions of a blood product, Factor VIII, created from donated blood of non-hemophiliacs.
Healthy for most of his childhood, Ryan had become extremely ill in December of 1984. On December 17, 1984, White was diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS. AIDS was poorly understood at the time; scientists had only realized earlier that year that HIV caused AIDS. At an unknown point in time, Ryan had received a tainted treatment of Factor VIII that was infected with HIV. At the time of his diagnosis, his T-cell count had fallen to 25 (AIDS is diagnosed once HIV infection has reduced the count below 200, a healthy individual without HIV will have around 1,200). White was given six months to live.
White was too ill to return to Western Middle School in Howard County, Indiana after the diagnosis, but by spring had begun to feel better. His mother asked if White could return to school but is told he cannot. On June 30, 1995 a formal request to permit re-admittance to school is denied by Western School Corporation superintendent James O. Smith, sparking a legal battle that would last for 8 months.
When the public school that he attended, Western Middle School in Russiaville, Indiana, learned of his disease there was enormous pressure from many parents and faculty to bar him from school premises. Over 117 parents (from a school of 360 total students) and 50 teachers, signed a petition encouraging school leaders to ban White from school. Due to the widespread fear and ignorance of AIDS, principal Ron Colby and later the school board assented. White's family filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban.
The White's initially filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. The court, however, declined to hear the case until administrative appeals had been resolved.
Although HIV/AIDS was poorly understood, it was known at the time to spread via blood, and not be transmittable by any sort of casual contact. Since AIDS was fatal and incurable, however, many families in Kokomo believed the risk to be too great. When White was permitted to return to school for one day in February of 1986, 151 of 360 students stayed home from school. White also worked as a paper boy, and many of the people on his route canceled their subscriptions, believing that HIV could be transmitted through newsprint.
Dr. Woodrow Myers, Indiana's state health commissioner who had extensive experience treating AIDS patients in San Francisco, and the Federal Centers for Disease Control both notified the board that White posed no risk to other students, but the school board and many parents ignored their statements. When White was finally readmitted in April, a group of families started an alternative school. Threats of violence and lawsuits persisted. According to White's mother, people on the street would often yell, "we know you're queer" at Ryan. The editors and publishers of the Kokomo Tribune, which supported White both editorially and financially, were also called homosexuals and threatened with death for their actions.
White attended Western Middle School for eighth grade for the entire 1986-87 school year, but was deeply unhappy and had few friends. White was required to eat with disposable utensils and use separate bathrooms. After finishing the year, his family moved to Cicero, Indiana where White enrolled at Hamilton Heights High School. On August 31, 1987 a very nervous White was greeted by school principal Tony Cook, school system superintendent Bob G. Carnal, and a handful of students who had been educated about AIDS and were unafraid to shake White's hand.
White developed a close relationship with his personal physician, Dr. Martin Kleiman, now the Ryan White Professor of AIDS Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. White participated in several annual benefits for children with AIDS and several benefits for sports figures and in Hollywood. He befriended John Cougar Mellencamp, Elton John, Matt Frewer, Michael Jackson, Linda Otto, Ronald Reagan, Alyssa Milano, Nancy Reagan, Phil Donahue, Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, Bobby Knight and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also was a friend to many children and others with AIDS or other potentially debilitating conditions. He disliked the public spotlight to an extent, loathed remarks that seemingly blamed his mother or his upbringing for his illness, and emphasized that he would trade his fame at any moment if he could be free of the disease.
Alyssa Milano kissed him.
White drove a red Mustang convertible that was a gift from Michael Jackson.
Gay-related immune deficiency
In 1988, White spoke before President Reagan's AIDS commission, where his speech was the only to receive applause from the committee among months of testimony.
Before dying of AIDS-related pneumonia in April 1990, he worked to educate people on the nature of HIV and AIDS, to show it was not a "homosexual disease" and that it was safe to associate with HIV-positive persons. Being outside the typical stigmatized categories allowed White to become the North American poster child for HIV infection.
In 1989, ABC aired the television movie ''The Ryan White Story'', starring Lukas Haas as Ryan, Judith Light as Jeanne and Nikki Cox as sister Andrea. Ryan White had a small cameo appearance as Chad, a young AIDS patient. Others in the film included Sarah Jessica Parker as a sympathetic nurse and George Dzundza as his doctor, and George C. Scott as White's attorney that argued against the Indiana authorities. Neilsen estimated that the movie was seen by 15 million viewers. Some residents of Kokomo, Indiana felt that the movie portrayed their entire town as opposed to White. After the film aired, the office of Kokomo mayor Robert F. Sargent was flooded with complaints from across the country, even though Sargent had not been mayor at the time.
In White's final public appearance he hosted an after-Oscars party with former president Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan in California. Although his health was deteriorating, White spoke to the Reagans about his hopes of attending college.
On March 29, 1990, several months before his high school class graduated, White entered Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis with a respiratory infection. As his condition deteriorated he was placed on a ventilator and sedated. Elton John came and stayed in Indianapolis and the hospital was deluged with calls from well-wishers. White died on April 8, 1990.
White's funeral on April 11 was a standing-room-only event held at the Second Presbyterian Church on Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Services and burial by the Rev. Ray Probasco were attended by 1,500. White's pallbearers included Elton John, Howie Long and Phil Donohue. Elton John performed "Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral and also trained the Hamilton Heights High School choir to sing at the funeral. The funeral was also attended by Michael Jackson and First Lady Barbara Bush. The day of the funeral, former president Reagan wrote a tribute to White that appeared in ''The Washington Post''.
Ryan is buried in Cicero, close to the home of his mother, Jeanne. In the year following his death, his grave was vandalized on four occasions. Police believe the grave was vandalized because it belonged to White. As time passed, however, White's grave became a shrine for his admirers.
In 1990, Congress enacted The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act or Ryan White Care Act, the United States' largest federally funded program (excluding Medicaid and Medicare).
Michael Jackson, who was a close friend of White's, dedicated the song "Gone Too Soon" from his ''Dangerous'' album. Back in 1989, White spent three weeks at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. '80s pop star Tiffany dedicated the song "Here in My Heart" to White on her ''New Inside'' album (1990) and wrote this in the booklet: "I just hope that God has plans to bless the world with more people like Ryan White."
Friend Jill Stewart established the Indiana University Dance Marathon in 1991 to raise money in her late friend's name for the Riley Hospital for Children. Over the past 17 years, the Indiana University Dance Marathon has helped raise over 5 million dollars for the children at Riley. The money raised has also helped found the Ryan White Infectious Disease Clinic at the hospital to take care of the nation's sickest children. The clinic bears Ryan's name because of his will to get better even though he was faced with adversity, ignorance and hatred.
Elton John is thought to have written "The Last Song" which appears on his album ''The One'' in Ryan's memory.
In 1992, White's mother founded the national nonprofit Ryan White Foundation. The foundation seeks to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues, with a focus for hemophiliacs like Ryan White, and for families caring for relatives with the disease.
In 1992 his mother told The New York Times, "Ryan always said, 'I'm just like everyone else with AIDS, no matter how I got it.' And he would never have lived as long as he did without the gay community. The people we knew in New York made sure we knew about the latest treatments way before we would have known in Indiana. I hear mothers today say they're not gonna work with no gay community on anything. Well, if it comes to your son's life, you better start changing your heart and your attitude around."
★ List of HIV-positive people
★ Ray brothers
★ Kimberly Bergalis
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
★ Ryan White
★ Ryan White - Find-A-Grave
★ Indiana Dance Marathon
White became infected with HIV from a blood product known as Factor VIII, as part of his treatment for hemophilia given to him on a regular basis. He was diagnosed with AIDS on December 17, 1984, by a doctor performing a partial lung removal.
| Contents |
| Biography |
| Early life and illness |
| Battle with schools |
| National spokesman |
| Death |
| Legacy |
| Ryan White Care Act |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Biography
Early life and illness
Ryan White was born on December 6, 1971 at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana to Jeanne Elaine (Hale) and Hubert Wayne White. When he was 6 days old, doctors diagnosed him with severe hemophilia, a hereditary genetic illness that prevents blood from clotting, and causes minor injuries to lead to severe bleeding. To treat the disorder, he would receive transfusions of a blood product, Factor VIII, created from donated blood of non-hemophiliacs.
Healthy for most of his childhood, Ryan had become extremely ill in December of 1984. On December 17, 1984, White was diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS. AIDS was poorly understood at the time; scientists had only realized earlier that year that HIV caused AIDS. At an unknown point in time, Ryan had received a tainted treatment of Factor VIII that was infected with HIV. At the time of his diagnosis, his T-cell count had fallen to 25 (AIDS is diagnosed once HIV infection has reduced the count below 200, a healthy individual without HIV will have around 1,200). White was given six months to live.
White was too ill to return to Western Middle School in Howard County, Indiana after the diagnosis, but by spring had begun to feel better. His mother asked if White could return to school but is told he cannot. On June 30, 1995 a formal request to permit re-admittance to school is denied by Western School Corporation superintendent James O. Smith, sparking a legal battle that would last for 8 months.
Battle with schools
| Timeline of legal battle 1985-86 school year | |
|---|---|
| June 30 | Superintendent James O. Smith denies White admittance to school. |
| Aug. 26 | First day of school. White is allowed to listen to his classes via telephone. |
| Oct. 2 | School principal upholds decision to prohibit White. |
| Nov. 25 | Indiana Department of Education rules that White must be admitted. |
| Dec. 17 | The school board votes 7-0 to appeal the ruling. |
| Feb 6. | Indiana DOE again rules White can attend school, after inspection by Howard County health officers. |
| Feb. 13 | Howard County health officer determines White is fit for school. |
| Feb. 19 | Howard County judge refuses to issue an injunction against White. |
| Feb. 21 | White returns to school. A different judge grants a restraining order in the afternoon to again bar him. |
| Mar. 2 | White's opponents hold an auction in the school gymnasium to raise money to keep White out. |
| April 9 | White's case is presented in Circuit Court. |
| April 10 | Circuit Court Judge Jack R. O'Neill dissolves restraining order. Ryan returns to school. |
| July 18 | Indiana Court of Appeals declines to hear any further appeals. |
When the public school that he attended, Western Middle School in Russiaville, Indiana, learned of his disease there was enormous pressure from many parents and faculty to bar him from school premises. Over 117 parents (from a school of 360 total students) and 50 teachers, signed a petition encouraging school leaders to ban White from school. Due to the widespread fear and ignorance of AIDS, principal Ron Colby and later the school board assented. White's family filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban.
The White's initially filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. The court, however, declined to hear the case until administrative appeals had been resolved.
Although HIV/AIDS was poorly understood, it was known at the time to spread via blood, and not be transmittable by any sort of casual contact. Since AIDS was fatal and incurable, however, many families in Kokomo believed the risk to be too great. When White was permitted to return to school for one day in February of 1986, 151 of 360 students stayed home from school. White also worked as a paper boy, and many of the people on his route canceled their subscriptions, believing that HIV could be transmitted through newsprint.
Dr. Woodrow Myers, Indiana's state health commissioner who had extensive experience treating AIDS patients in San Francisco, and the Federal Centers for Disease Control both notified the board that White posed no risk to other students, but the school board and many parents ignored their statements. When White was finally readmitted in April, a group of families started an alternative school. Threats of violence and lawsuits persisted. According to White's mother, people on the street would often yell, "we know you're queer" at Ryan. The editors and publishers of the Kokomo Tribune, which supported White both editorially and financially, were also called homosexuals and threatened with death for their actions.
White attended Western Middle School for eighth grade for the entire 1986-87 school year, but was deeply unhappy and had few friends. White was required to eat with disposable utensils and use separate bathrooms. After finishing the year, his family moved to Cicero, Indiana where White enrolled at Hamilton Heights High School. On August 31, 1987 a very nervous White was greeted by school principal Tony Cook, school system superintendent Bob G. Carnal, and a handful of students who had been educated about AIDS and were unafraid to shake White's hand.
National spokesman
White developed a close relationship with his personal physician, Dr. Martin Kleiman, now the Ryan White Professor of AIDS Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. White participated in several annual benefits for children with AIDS and several benefits for sports figures and in Hollywood. He befriended John Cougar Mellencamp, Elton John, Matt Frewer, Michael Jackson, Linda Otto, Ronald Reagan, Alyssa Milano, Nancy Reagan, Phil Donahue, Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, Bobby Knight and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also was a friend to many children and others with AIDS or other potentially debilitating conditions. He disliked the public spotlight to an extent, loathed remarks that seemingly blamed his mother or his upbringing for his illness, and emphasized that he would trade his fame at any moment if he could be free of the disease.
Alyssa Milano kissed him.
White drove a red Mustang convertible that was a gift from Michael Jackson.
Gay-related immune deficiency
In 1988, White spoke before President Reagan's AIDS commission, where his speech was the only to receive applause from the committee among months of testimony.
Before dying of AIDS-related pneumonia in April 1990, he worked to educate people on the nature of HIV and AIDS, to show it was not a "homosexual disease" and that it was safe to associate with HIV-positive persons. Being outside the typical stigmatized categories allowed White to become the North American poster child for HIV infection.
In 1989, ABC aired the television movie ''The Ryan White Story'', starring Lukas Haas as Ryan, Judith Light as Jeanne and Nikki Cox as sister Andrea. Ryan White had a small cameo appearance as Chad, a young AIDS patient. Others in the film included Sarah Jessica Parker as a sympathetic nurse and George Dzundza as his doctor, and George C. Scott as White's attorney that argued against the Indiana authorities. Neilsen estimated that the movie was seen by 15 million viewers. Some residents of Kokomo, Indiana felt that the movie portrayed their entire town as opposed to White. After the film aired, the office of Kokomo mayor Robert F. Sargent was flooded with complaints from across the country, even though Sargent had not been mayor at the time.
In White's final public appearance he hosted an after-Oscars party with former president Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan in California. Although his health was deteriorating, White spoke to the Reagans about his hopes of attending college.
Death
On March 29, 1990, several months before his high school class graduated, White entered Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis with a respiratory infection. As his condition deteriorated he was placed on a ventilator and sedated. Elton John came and stayed in Indianapolis and the hospital was deluged with calls from well-wishers. White died on April 8, 1990.
White's funeral on April 11 was a standing-room-only event held at the Second Presbyterian Church on Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Services and burial by the Rev. Ray Probasco were attended by 1,500. White's pallbearers included Elton John, Howie Long and Phil Donohue. Elton John performed "Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral and also trained the Hamilton Heights High School choir to sing at the funeral. The funeral was also attended by Michael Jackson and First Lady Barbara Bush. The day of the funeral, former president Reagan wrote a tribute to White that appeared in ''The Washington Post''.
Ryan is buried in Cicero, close to the home of his mother, Jeanne. In the year following his death, his grave was vandalized on four occasions. Police believe the grave was vandalized because it belonged to White. As time passed, however, White's grave became a shrine for his admirers.
Legacy
In 1990, Congress enacted The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act or Ryan White Care Act, the United States' largest federally funded program (excluding Medicaid and Medicare).
Michael Jackson, who was a close friend of White's, dedicated the song "Gone Too Soon" from his ''Dangerous'' album. Back in 1989, White spent three weeks at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. '80s pop star Tiffany dedicated the song "Here in My Heart" to White on her ''New Inside'' album (1990) and wrote this in the booklet: "I just hope that God has plans to bless the world with more people like Ryan White."
President Bush signs the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006, in the Oval Office Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2006.
Friend Jill Stewart established the Indiana University Dance Marathon in 1991 to raise money in her late friend's name for the Riley Hospital for Children. Over the past 17 years, the Indiana University Dance Marathon has helped raise over 5 million dollars for the children at Riley. The money raised has also helped found the Ryan White Infectious Disease Clinic at the hospital to take care of the nation's sickest children. The clinic bears Ryan's name because of his will to get better even though he was faced with adversity, ignorance and hatred.
Elton John is thought to have written "The Last Song" which appears on his album ''The One'' in Ryan's memory.
In 1992, White's mother founded the national nonprofit Ryan White Foundation. The foundation seeks to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues, with a focus for hemophiliacs like Ryan White, and for families caring for relatives with the disease.
In 1992 his mother told The New York Times, "Ryan always said, 'I'm just like everyone else with AIDS, no matter how I got it.' And he would never have lived as long as he did without the gay community. The people we knew in New York made sure we knew about the latest treatments way before we would have known in Indiana. I hear mothers today say they're not gonna work with no gay community on anything. Well, if it comes to your son's life, you better start changing your heart and your attitude around."
Ryan White Care Act
See also
★ List of HIV-positive people
★ Ray brothers
★ Kimberly Bergalis
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
External links
★ Ryan White
★ Ryan White - Find-A-Grave
★ Indiana Dance Marathon
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psst.. try this: add to faves
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