ELTON JOHN PAYS TRIBUTE TO RYAN WHITE

Ryan White was a teenager and the face of AIDS when it was discovered that he contracted the disease through a tainted blood transfusion in the late 1980s. He took some of the stigma and fear away from the disease and also proved that it was not just a "gay" disease. He died on April 8, 1990. He was 18-years-old. Before his death Ryan was befriended by none other than Elton John, who heard of his struggle with the public school he was attending that banned him at the age of 13. John was at Riley Children's Hospital when White died and was a pallbearer and performed at the funeral. I remember it very well as being one of the saddest most touching moments ever. Elton spoke on Wednesday at a benefit celebrating the life and memory of Ryan saying, "It was one of the greatest things in my life to meet Ryan's family, to be there the last week to try and help, and then for that wonderful message that he gave me to change my life around," John told The Associated Press, "It was weird to take stock and think of it - I'm 20 years sober this year, and it's 20 years since Ryan died, because I got sober shortly afterward." Elton credits Ryan with helping him turn his life around and stop drinking. The proceeds from the event got to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Indianapolis Children's Museum's "Power of Children" which features White. "It took a child to die to make people sit up and notice," Elton says of HIV/AIDS. Let's continue to educate and teach kids and adults about how to protect themselves. If you can, donate to AIDS Walk New York as well HERE. Every dollar helps. [source][image]