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Ryan White - 20th Anniversary of His Passing

BabyPiper33

BabyPiper33

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Hello. I posted a thread a few weeks back about my story regarding Ryan White and Michael. http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88759.

Today is the 20th anniversary of Ryan's passing. As you may remember, Michael flew to Indianapolis immediately with Donald Trump and spent the day with Ryan's mother, sister, and Elton John at Ryan's home in Cicero. He also attended Ryan's funeral a few days later in Indianapolis.

I visited Ryan's grave this morning to take a rose and some notes a few of you sent to me to leave at his grave site. I wanted to post a couple of the photos.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the cemetery is on Jackson Street in Cicero. :)



Entrance to Cemetery


There were several of these at his grave site.


Several gifts, flowers and notes had already been delivered by the time I arrived early this morning.


The rose and notes I left. Notice the inscription on the stone. :)




Also, there is a great article in today's Indianapolis Star regarding the 20th anniversary.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100408/NEWS/4080328/20-years-on-Ryan-White-s-legacy-lives

I hope you all have a blessed day and thank you for letting me share this. I plan to visit again in the coming weeks, so if you have gifts you would like for me to take there, or if you would like to PM a note to me, I would be happy to print them off and bring them to Ryan's grave site next time I go.

Heidi
 
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my god thanks for sharing this. i recently watched the gone too soon video and without fail i always cry. i never saw his headstone before..and i never realized anything michael was on it.... thanks again for sharing this sweet story about him to everyone. its really takes me back to when he was alive and talking about his life back then. he was wise beyond his years when talking out...but then i realized he was actually 18..? but still so young. aww
 
Ryan White (Dec 6 1971 - Apr 7 1990)

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. A hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Despite doctors having said he posed no risk to other students, 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.[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. He appeared frequently in the media with celebrities such as Elton John, Michael Jackson and Phil Donahue. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted and died in April 1990, one month prior to his high school graduation.
Before White, AIDS was a disease widely associated with the male homosexual community, because it was first diagnosed there. That perception shifted as White and other prominent HIV-infected people, such as Magic Johnson, 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 was reauthorized in 2006 and again on October 30, 2009; its Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.


RIP Ryan White - Passed away 20 years ago today. Gone Too Soon.... You were one of the much needed teachers of the world... Thankyou...
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suzynyc said:
I can't believe it's been 20 years. Where does the time go? I hope that he and MJ are together again.
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I can't either. It really does fly by.
Heartbreaking. :( I'm sure Michael and Ryan are together now somewhere in perfect peace.
 
Thank you for taking those pictures!

I remember back when Ryan was kicked out of school and he became a household name because he sued the school district over it when they kicked him out. As a kid in school in the Midwest during that time, we saw many specials in class on Ryan. We saw how he communicated from home directly to the classroom to keep up with his classes and things. It was really interesting and I think important for my generation to see that as kids. You are more open to learning and seeing past the prejudices and we learned such great things by watching Ryan. He made us see that even kids could get HIV or AIDS and not to be so scared like our parents were.

Those lessons we learned in the classroom about him are ones I carried into my adult life and I think it is why so many of my age group are remembering him today. 20 years! I can't believe it's been that long! I remember when he died it was SO sad. And two singers I did and still love were both at his funeral, EJ and MJ. Michael also bought Ryan a car because his mom was struggling financially and Elton put the down payment on their house when they moved to Cicero.

You know because of Ryan, EJ started the Elton John AIDS Foundation and as of 2008 he's raised well over 200 million dollars for research, support and medicine for HIV/AIDS patients.

And Ryan's legacy lives on in the US with the Ryan White Care Act that provides life saving meds to HIV and AIDS patients whom otherwise would have no means to afford the drugs.

The kid just wanted to go to school, because he was a hemophiliac and couldn't do sports and things, so learning was his thing.... and in the end I think he helped inspire a generation.

I hope he's never forgotten.

:)
 
They are Friends forever! And they are together in heaven now! I believe! :yes:

Thank you for doing this Heidi!
 
suzynyc said:
I can't believe it's been 20 years. Where does the time go? I hope that he and MJ are together again.
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I can't believe it either. May Ryan & Michael rest in peace.
Thanks for the pictures..heartbreaking! :cry:
 
Thank you all for the positive response to this. It really means a lot to me. I know Ryan and Michael really are "friends forever," as it says on his headstone. As I mentioned, if any of you ever wish to send a note or anything that you would like me to take to Ryan's grave, please PM me and I would be more than happy to do so. I plan on going back in a few weeks. I would love to put together something from the MJ fans at some point and if anyone has an idea of what to do, please let me know. I thought of maybe putting together a memory book or something and either taking it to his gravesite or seeing if I can find an address for his mom, Jeanne White-Ginder, who now lives in Florida and sending it to her. She said so many wonderful things on local and national TV about Michael after he passed, and I believe she also supported him publicly during his trial and I would love to thank her from us for that, as well as honor Ryan.

Heidi
 
I knew Ryan and Michael have seen each other again right now doing everything together in heaven. Ryan a true young Amercian hero and Michael a true worldwide hero. They're heroes for life.
 
Heidi, THANK YOU so very much for this amazing thread and most of all thank you for your kind gesture and example. I had no idea whatsoever about the 20th anniversary of Ryan White's passing. There seems to be something up there about April 8th and really good people - five years ago Pope John Paul II's funeral took place.

Returning on topic though - AIDS is such a terrible disease and prejudice is indeed ignorance, Michael was perfectly right. I think the Gone too soon video is a wonderful tribute to both Ryan and the struggle and the symbol he became. If my memory serves me right i think his mother defended Michael as far back as 1993, i remember having read that in one of the Black&White magazines. God bless her, she is such a strong woman and not because she had the courage to tell the truth but most of all cause of the pain she endured and she continues to after the loss of her son. I cannot and i do not want to imagine what it's like to lose a child.

In that book from the so-called rabbi i think there was a small talk where Michael mentioned having witnessed a conversation between Ryan and his mother about the clothes he would wear for his funeral, i thought that was such a terrible image. It's difficult enough when seniors do that (i know my granparents, those that are still around, have that terrible habit of talking about it), but to think of such an young, brave man preparing himself for his departure from this earth.....it's just heartbreaking. God rest his soul.


ryanfuneral.png


I know this might be very painful to watch for many, but we GOTTA be strong, there's no way round it.



I remember seeing the performance for this song from the Clinton inaugural many years later after it had taken place, i was sooo impressed by it.

God bless Ryan and God bless Michael.
 
This brought tears to my eyes. God bless Ryan and God bless Michael, they're both true inspirations. I'm sure they're spending time together now, "Friends forever".
:angel:
 
Wow. He did the year that I was born. I remember learning about him though growing up. I recently watched the Lifetime movie that they did when he was still alive, and he played another AIDS patient in it. What a great boy. I hope him and Michael are together once again.

His mother was on Good Morning America semi-recently talking about MJ and Ryan's relationship. It made me cry.
 
Awwww!!!!! Now I understand GTS Vid what it was all about. MJ just so sweet....

Ryan also an angel so i MJ...Both gone too soon. Both Now Angel and both are up in heaven together.

RIP Angels!
 
Last night i saw Janet's beautiful "Together again" video and I was reminded of this thread. As some of you may know, she wrote this song in memory of all the friends she lost to AIDS and donated all the proceeds to AIDS foundations, if i remember correctly. Both the original and the remix rock and the video has some truly breathtaking scenery. I think the outfits she wears are from the awesome John Galliano. I hope it is enjoyed.

 
Shabuya said:
ryanfuneral.png


I know this might be very painful to watch for many, but we GOTTA be strong, there's no way round it.
Click to expand...

Gone too soon breaks my heart. :(


Shabuya said:
I remember seeing the performance for this song from the Clinton inaugural many years later after it had taken place, i was sooo impressed by it.
Click to expand...
Yes.... here:

[youtube]ZNTc2yC8nuA&NR[/youtube]



*big sigh* :(
 
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