In Such Poor Health I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.
At the age of my late teens, my daily commute meant taking an packed public transport. The vehicle was always crowded and was consistently without any seats when I stepped aboard.
On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick as the bus lurched around every turn. I continuously reassured myself to hold on just a little longer until the bus reached my stop, at which point I could make a mad dash to the closest public toilet to throw up.
As we neared the street towards my stop and I understood I would not be to hold on. In an instant, it was like a fog descended upon me. The world became white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. My mind raced, “I’m going to faint”.
Luckily I was toward the front on the bus, so I managed a couple of steps toward the driver and requested that the driver to stop, explaining to him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped onto the sidewalk.
My intention was not to vomit in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I gathered myself and began attempting to walk toward the green space on the other side, thinking I could it would allow me to secretly conceal myself behind a bush to vomit. But then I must have lost consciousness. I was aware of my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, leading me to start crawling towards my intended destination.
“You right, love?”
At that moment, I got scooped up. There was a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this mysterious stranger that I required to vomit. So he virtually supported my weight into a nearby building and guided me into the female bathroom. He wanted to know if I wanted him to wait for me but I declined.
After a short while, I felt better to the point of sitting on the toilet when from beyond the door came his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to get up right away but I was able to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter recovered the use of my legs. I returned home and then spent the following days getting over which was a horrible case of gastroenteritis.
I never saw his features – merely his legs and the big steelwork tools container he had with him – but he saved me, when I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that hardening of the heart. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.
