Kentucky teacher Jim Freeman of Tully Elementary School volunteered to carry student Ryan Neighbors on his back so she could participate in the class field trip to Falls of the Ohio.

I love to share stories about teachers who go the extra mile for students, and here is one story that is truly heartwarmng. Teacher Jim Freeman of Tully Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky, wanted to ensure that student Ryan Neighbors could participate in a field trip with her class. The group was planning to go to Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Park just over the state line in Clarksville, Indiana. The thing is, Ryan is confined to a wheelchair, and isn’t able to do the hiking and climbing that the field trip requires. Ryan was born with spina bifida, a birth defect where the spine and spinal cord do not form properly.

When students visit the conservation park, they hike to 390-year-old fossil beds. view museum exhibits that depict human history of the Louisville area, including pre-settlement, early settlement, and the history of southern Indiana. In order to make it possible for Ryan to participate, the teacher volunteered to carry the ten-year-old in a carrier on his back for the entire excursion.

Ryan’s mother, Shelly King, cannot praise the teacher enough. “I was blown away,” she expressed. “Mr. Freeman, he’s not her teacher but he teaches in the classroom next door. That’s what I think makes it so heartfelt, because he’s not her teacher. He didn’t have to do it,” she said. The mother also said she was grateful that Freeman was so compassionate and willing to help.

The student also appreciated the ability to participate in the field trip. “I liked it so much,” Ryan expressed. She said she learned a great deal on the trip. “We got to see the fossils and the bones … and I thought it was really fun,” the student declared.

To read more about this story, view this online article published by People.com.