The Quiet Hero by Nelson Price

Author:Nelson Price
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-87195-3865
Publisher: Indiana Historical Society Press
Published: 2015-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

During an interview at the Whites’ house, a feature writer for the Indianapolis News asked Jeanne why the family did not simply move from Kokomo. In response, Jeanne looked the journalist directly in the eye. “So who,” she asked, “will buy ‘the AIDS house’?”

The break for summer brought its own challenges. If Ryan spent a day in the sun, large red blotches would appear on his skin. The blotches, which showed up across his body, did not just alarm Jeanne. They also scared Ryan, who usually tried not to admit to fears. On some nights, he endured high fevers and sweats. Sometimes he also was bothered by a hacking cough.

After school resumed in August, Ryan was in and out of the hospital to treat his various health challenges. His hospital stays meant Jeanne and other family members frequently could not take Andrea to roller skating practices. She missed so many practices—often because, with few complaints, she accompanied Jeanne and Ryan to the hospital—that Andrea eventually announced she intended to give up competitive roller skating. Her lack of practice meant she was being surpassed by girls whom she used to beat regularly. Although Jeanne expressed disappointment that her daughter’s roller skating career had to end because of Ryan’s health issues, she acknowledged Andrea’s decision was the sensible approach.

John provided a big boost by sending airplane tickets to Southern California for Ryan, Jeanne, and Andrea. The trip included a personal tour of Disneyland, courtesy of the rock star. During the tour, Ryan occasionally was too weak to walk. The group fetched a wheelchair, and the international rock star volunteered to push. Continually displaying what Jeanne later described as unflagging “energy and good nature,” John wheeled Ryan around at speeds that delighted the young Hoosier. Under the California sun, Ryan even developed a slight tan—not red splotches.

“I wanted to give him an adventure—limos, planes, fancy hotels—a carefree time to take his mind off his difficult circumstances,” John recalled in his memoir about the impact of the AIDS epidemic on his life. “But what I remember most about that visit is that I had at least as much fun as Ryan, if not more.” At that point, the pop superstar later revealed, he was addicted to cocaine and frequently indulged his temper, throwing fits over trivialities such as the color of the curtains in his hotel rooms. “Ryan, on the other hand, was dying,” John noted. “His family had been tormented. And yet, during his trip to L.A. and every time I was with him from then on, he was so relentlessly upbeat.”

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