On December 17, 1984, I had surgery to remove two inches of my left lung due to pneumonia. After two hours of surgery the doctors told my mother I had AIDS.

Entertainers, athletes, and stars started giving me support.

People would get up and leave so they would not have to sit anywhere near me.

I came face to face with death at thirteen years old.

The desire to move into a bigger house, to avoid living AIDS daily, and a dream to be accepted by a community and school, became possible and a reality with a movie about my life, The Ryan White Story.

Mayor Koch, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support.

Because of the lack of education on AIDS, discrimination, fear, panic, and lies surrounded me.