With This Ebola Hysteria I Was Reminded Of Ryan White

[UglyGreed]

Ryan White and his mother were heroes at that time. He did not infect anyone and died without many friends I imagine.

http://hab.hrsa.gov/abouthab/ryanwhite.html

Ryan White and his mom courageously fought AIDS-related discrimination and helped educate the Nation about his disease.

Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13. He and his mother Jeanne White Ginder fought for his right to attend school, gaining international attention as a voice of reason about HIV/AIDS. At the age of 18, Ryan White died on April 8, 1990, just months before Congress passed the AIDS bill that bears his name – the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act. The legislation has been reauthorized four times since – in 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2009 – and is now called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

[Marrah_G]

1. It reminds me of the AIDS hysteria also

fear, ignorance, misinformation with the media fueling it all.

[UglyGreed]

2. Yep indeed

Here is more on Ryan White the hero.

Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990)[1] was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States, after being expelled from middle school because of his infection. As a hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, but AIDS was poorly understood at the time, and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against his attendance. Western School was actually located in Russiaville outside of Kokomo and was not part of the local Kokomo school system. [2] A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the case made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted but died in April 1990, one month before his high school graduation.

Before White, AIDS was a disease widely associated with the male gay community, because it was first diagnosed among gay men. That perception shifted as White and other prominent HIV-infected people, such as Magic Johnson, Arthur Ashe, the Ray brothers and Kimberly Bergalis, appeared in the media to advocate for more AIDS research and public education to address the epidemic. The U.S. Congress passed a major piece of AIDS legislation, the Ryan White Care Act, shortly after White's death. The Act has been reauthorized twice; Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_White

[Marrah_G]

3. just his name brings me to tears

Those were dark days

[UglyGreed]

5. Same here

oh so sad what he and his mother had to endure.

[diabeticman]

4. Yes, My wife was just saying how the ebola hysteria reminded her of the aids/HIV hysteria...People

Who happened to come from those countries effected by ebola are being shunned even fired over this hysteria.

[UglyGreed]

6. I know is it

crazy and sad.