AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The series My Unsung Hero from the team at Hidden Brain tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from Julie Ort. When Julie started college, she was recovering from a major spinal cord injury. The leg brace and crutches that she used to walk often made her late to class. And on one of these occasions, she got to her physics class and was trying to maneuver into a seat without drawing attention to herself.
JULIE ORT: But as I was scooting sideways between the first and second rows, my backpack shifted, and I began to freefall backwards. Meanwhile, my legs shot straight up in the air so that the entire class was framed between my knees as they, in unison, gasped, some of them reaching their hands out as if they might be able to catch me, all of them with a look of absolute horror. The instructor actually had to come over and help lift my legs over the back of the seat and swing me around to the front. And all the while, I just looked at him and begged, please just go on teaching.
