Remembering Ryan White and the Ryan White CARE Act 20 years later
My how time flies and how far we’ve come when it comes to awareness and acceptance of those with HIV and AIDS in comparison to the 1980s. At the same time, we have quiet a way to go. One of the icons in the AIDS movement was Ryan White who died of AIDS on this day, April 8, 1990 at the tender age of 13. A hemophiliac, Ryan was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 from receiving a blood treatment that was infected. The story of this young man from the midwest helped to begin to shift our thinking that HIV/AIDS was not a “gay disease.” Yet, he still faced his share of discrimination and was denied the opportunity to attend school once the school system became aware that Ryan had AIDS.
