Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Practically Supported Me to the Toilets.
At the age of 19 years old, my daily commute involved an crowded coach. It remained jammed and was consistently standing room only once I stepped aboard.
One particular morning, I started experiencing terribly ill as the bus lurched around each corner. I repeatedly told myself to hold on just a little longer until the bus arrived at my destination, and then I could sprint quickly to the closest public restroom to throw up.
As we neared the road leading to the stop when I understood I wasn’t going to last. Suddenly, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned hazy and muffled; similar to when one turned off the audio. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front of the bus, so I took several steps forward and requested that the driver to pull over, informing him I needed to get ill. He promptly opened the entrance and I stumbled out on to the pavement.
I was resolved not to vomit in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and endeavored to stumble toward the green space across the road, where I thought I could at least find some privacy among some shrubs to vomit. But then I apparently fainted. I was aware of my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, leading me to start dragging myself toward the park.
“Are you okay, dear?”
In that instant, someone picked me up. There was an arm around my waist and a stranger inquired, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this mysterious stranger that I needed to vomit. So he virtually supported my weight into a nearby building and put me into the female bathroom. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I refused.
A few minutes later, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit down when from beyond the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I wasn’t able to get up right away but I was able to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my limbs. I made my way home and then spent several days recovering from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.
I never saw his features – just his lower half along with a sizable steelwork tools container he was carrying – but he saved me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.
Many times, life can make you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His was the sort of gesture that melts away that hardening of the heart. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency leans toward compassion, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.