1 post tagged “hiv”

Dr. Woody Myers today unveils a new campaign ad which will begin airing shortly featuring the personal endorsement of Jeanne White-Gender, the mother of Ryan White whose cause Dr. Myers championed in the mid to late 80s as Indiana Health Commissioner. Ryan White was prevented from attending his public school in Kokomo as a result of fear about the nature of his disease and the efforts of Dr. Myers to return him to the classroom brought international media attention to Ryan and put a human face on the HIV/AIDS crisis.

"When my son Ryan wanted to continue going to school, only one man in all of state government was brave enough to stand up for him. Ryan and I are both so grateful," said White-Gender. "With all that's wrong with our country, we need courageous people like Dr. Myers in Congress who will do what's right."

As Health Commissioner from 1985-1990, Dr. Myers championed Ryan's cause when his community turned against him. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984 from infected blood-based products, 13 year-old Ryan was told to leave his public school for the erroneous fear he would spread the virus through casual contact. At a time when HIV-AIDS was widely misunderstood, Dr. Myers boldly took on his role of Indiana's state's medical expert, educated Hoosiers on the nature of the virus and took action to bring a voice to a child who needed it most.

"I'm so honored Jeanne is helping out our campaign," said Myers. "She exemplifies the hope and courage of the people of Indianapolis. She serves as a role model in compassion and tenacity to our city and our nation."

The TV ad is debuting today and will be in rotation with our other ads on local stations. Jeanne White-Gender will be making appearances with Dr. Myers this weekend around Indianapolis. A full schedule of events this weekend will be released in advance.