INDIANAPOLIS, April 8, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In 1984,
a teenager educated a frightened world about a deadly disease.
Kokomo, Indiana native
Ryan White was just 13-years-old
when he contracted HIV/AIDS through a tainted blood product used to
treat his hemophilia. There was widespread fear, ignorance and
panic.
30 years later, the world is facing another horrible disease
that is claiming lives, COVID-19. It is also causing fear and
spreading panic around the world. Often, history teaches valuable
lessons that can help with challenges faced today.
Following his diagnosis, White was banned from attending his
high school classes. He wanted to live a normal life and attend
school like all the other kids his age. But panic and fear gripped
the nation. So, White's family took the school to court to pursue
Ryan's right to attend classes. As his physical battle to fight the
disease and the legal battle wore on, the White family moved to
Cicero, Indiana where White was
welcomed into Hamilton Heights High School. There, he made several
new friends and earned his high school diploma. White's influence
spread to the entertainment industry. In fact, musician
Elton John credits Ryan White with helping the singer turn his life
around. Ryan died on April 8, 1990
from AIDS-related pneumonia at the young age of 18-years-old.
At the time, medical experts explained that HIV/AIDS was not
spread through the air and that the disease was transmitted through
tainted blood product, coming into direct contact with certain body
fluids from a person with HIV such as blood, semen, and breast milk
or from drug usage with tainted needles. Many people, however, did
not understand or believe that. Ryan's mother says things are not
much different these days when it comes to disease. "There are a
lot of similarities today with COVID-19 with how people are scared
and everyone has an opinion on how you get the disease and how you
don't. It's extremely important to pay attention to the medical
evidence and listen to medical experts and let them be the ones who
guide us—not rumor," said Jeanne White
Ginder. "We have a chance to do something right now to save
lives and that's to stay home." White Ginder hopes people will work
harder to be informed by the experts, make informed decisions as a
result and show compassion. She went on to talk about how she still
misses her son every day but is glad he made a huge difference in
the world through the Ryan White Care Act, which provides a
comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, essential support
services, and medications for people living with HIV to improve
health outcomes and reduce HIV transmission among hard-to-reach
populations. White Ginder has one regret, "We've not done our job
by making the disease real to people. That was a big thing Ryan
did. He made the disease real and it helped change lives."
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis proudly acquired all of the
artifacts from Ryan's teenage bedroom from his mother, Jeanne White Ginder. Under her watchful eye, the
museum painstakingly recreated Ryan's bedroom, which is part of the
museum's Power of Children permanent exhibit. She says some of
Ryan's happiest memories took place in that home, especially in his
room filled with toy collections, posters and other
memorabilia.
The world's largest children's museum is temporarily closed due
to social gathering restrictions resulting from COVID-19; but,
children and families can still learn more about Ryan White through a series of new blogs that
can be found on The Children's Museum website. Then when things
return to normal, after the corona virus pandemic, Jeanne White Ginder plans to continue visiting
Ryan's room at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis several times a year to share
memories and stories about Ryan's journey.
The courage and bravery of a young teenager fighting for his
life and desire to be treated as a normal child is a strong message
that stays with us today and can continue to help provide comfort
and inspiration to people around the world facing difficult life
circumstances.
About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution
committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the
arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the
lives of children and families. For more information about The
Children's Museum, visit http://www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us
on Twitter @TCMIndy, Instagram@childrensmuseum,
YouTube.com/IndyTCM, and Facebook.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is proud to partner with Riley
Children's at Indiana University
Health, Old National Bank and Ice Miller LLP.
SOURCE The Children's Museum of Indianpolis