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Ryan White is born.
When Ryan White was born on December 6, 1971, the doctors found out immediately that he had hemophilia. The doctors had circumcised him and he did not stop bleeding, showing that he had hemophilia. Hemophilia means that when Ryan gets a cut or a bruise, he has no platelets in his blood to clot and stop the bleeding. -
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Ryan White's Life
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Ryan can no longer play sports.
When Ryan turned eight, he tried out for his town's Little League. His grandfather was very nervous, but his mother did not mind. When the ball hit him and he started to bleed, he was told that he could no longer play any sports. -
Ryan learns about AIDS disease.
Ryan was really interested in watching television. He also liked to read Time Magazine with his granfather. So, when the AIDS virus was discovered in 1982, he knew about it right away. -
Ryan's step-father divorces his mother.
In 1982 when Ryan was eleven, his mother and his step-father Steve decided to divorce. After the divorce, Steve still kept in touch with the family, unlike their real father. Steve and Ryan's mother told him that they were more like brother and sister, not husband and wife. -
Ryan's family finds out he has AIDS.
After a surgery, Ryan's mother finds out from the doctors that he has AIDS. She calls all of their family members to tell them the news. They all decide to tell Ryan after Christmas. -
Ryan finds out that he has AIDS.
After Ryan's Christmas, his mother decided to tell him the news. She went to his hospital room and calmly tells him that he has AIDS. Ryan could not believe what he had heard. -
Denied rights to education.
Superintendant James G. Smith denies Ryan of going to school because of his AIDS. Ryan was outraged because he knows that he is not contagious. People needed to be more educated before making those kinds of decisions. -
First day of the telephone hook up.
Even though Ryan cannot go to school, he still needs to get an education. So, the school sets up a telephone hook up so he can listen to his classes. Even though he is learning, Ryan is upset that he cannot see what he is learning about. -
Ryan can return to school.
After winning his court case, Ryan was very excited to return to school. Once he got there, things were not easy for him. The other kids would not come anywhere near him and some parents took their kids out of class to keep them away from him. -
New school.
After being treated so badly in Kokomo, Ryan's hometown, Ryan and his family decided to move to Cicero. he started school there and everyone was so nice and welcoming. Ryan finally felt like he belonged at school. -
Ryan's death.
Ryan White died on April 8, 1990 at 7:11 am. He was in the hospital and had come out of surgery. The doctors told his family that he was probably not going to make it. Ryan's mother thought he was trying to hold on to life, but she told him to let it go. -
Ryan's funeral.
Ryan's funeral was held on April 11, 1990 in the largest church in Indianapolis. All of his friends, family, and fans were there and Elton John even sang. He was buried at Cicero Cemetary and the dirt roads there were widened because of all the people coming to say good bye. Ryan will always be remembered for his work in educating the world about AIDS disease.