Feeling So Sick I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Practically Supported Me to a Restroom.

Back when I was my late teens, my daily commute was on an packed public transport. It remained full and invariably became completely full by the time I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I began feeling incredibly sick while the vehicle rocked around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to hold on for a few more stops until the bus reached where I needed to get off, and then I could make a mad dash toward the most convenient public restroom to throw up.

The bus was approaching the avenue close to the destination as it dawned on me I wasn’t going to make it. Suddenly, it was like a curtain fell over me. The world became white and really quiet; like someone had muted everything. I said to myself, “I will lose consciousness”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front of the bus, so I took several steps toward the driver and asked the driver to open the doors, telling him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.

I was determined to not get sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I gathered myself and began attempting to make my way to the park on the other side, where I thought it would allow me to discreetly hide behind a bush to vomit. But then I likely lost consciousness. I was aware of my body but I was unable to walk and my vision was blurry, leading me to start crawling towards the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

Right then, I was lifted up. I felt an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this unknown man that I required to get to a bathroom. So he virtually supported my weight over to an adjacent building and put me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I wanted him to wait for me but I declined.

Not long after, I regained my composure enough to sit on the restroom floor when from beyond the door came him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to get up at that moment but I did succeed to thank him and following a brief period regained the function of my legs. I returned home and then spent several days healing from what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never glimpsed his features – only his legs and the big metal toolbox he was carrying – but he helped me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Frequently, society tends to make people guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that melts away that protective shell. He demonstrated that our default setting is towards kindness, something I love in other people.