Given six months to live and being the fighter that I am, I set high goals for myself.
Listening to medical facts was not enough. People wanted one hundred percent guarantees.
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.
We began a series of court battles for nine months, while I was attending classes by telephone.
Twice a week I would receive injections or IV's of Factor VIII which clotted the blood and then broke it down.
This brought on the news media, TV crews, interviews, and numerous public appearances.
The school I was going to said they had no guidelines for a person with AIDS.
The first five to six years of my life were spent in and out of the hospital.
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.
Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic.
People would get up and leave so they would not have to sit anywhere near me.
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.
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.
My family and I held no hatred for those people because we realized they were victims of their own ignorance.