03/06/2026
A school field trip could have become another day where one student had to sit out.
But her teacher refused to let that happen.
In 2019, 10-year-old Ryan Neighbors, a Kentucky student with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair, was preparing for a class trip to the Falls of the Ohio State Park. The problem was that parts of the rocky fossil-bed area were not wheelchair accessible.
Instead of telling Ryan she would have to miss the experience, teacher Jim Freeman stepped in. With permission and support from her family, he carried her on his back in a special carrier so she could explore alongside her classmates.
Because of that choice, Ryan did not have to watch from a distance. She got to be part of the same field trip, the same laughter, the same memories, and the same learning experience as everyone else.
Photos from the trip spread online, and many people praised the teacher for his kindness. But the deeper message was about inclusion.
Children should not have to miss out simply because the world was not built with them in mind.
Sometimes compassion is not a speech.
Sometimes it is someone saying, “You are coming with us too.”