Ryan White Quotes

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

Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

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

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

I spent Christmas and the next thirty days in the hospital,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.