In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible Until a Fellow Passenger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.
Back when I was my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an crowded coach. The vehicle was always full and invariably became standing room only when I boarded.
During a certain commute, I began feeling quite nauseous while the vehicle rocked around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to persevere for a few more stops before the bus reached my destination, at which point I could rush hurriedly to the closest public toilet to be sick.
The bus was approaching the street towards my stop and I realised I wasn’t going to hold on. All of a sudden, it was like a veil came over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; as if someone cut the sound. I said to myself, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned near the front of the bus, so I managed a few steps forward and requested that the driver to pull over, telling him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited onto the sidewalk.
My intention was to avoid being sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and began attempting to walk across to the park opposite the street, thinking I could I’d at least be able to find some privacy near some foliage to throw up. But then I must have blacked out. I sensed my limbs, but I was unable to walk or see clearly, so I began inching my way to the grassy area.
“You right, love?”
At that moment, someone picked me up. There was someone holding me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I told this unknown man that I needed to be sick. So he virtually carried me into a close-by structure and placed me into the female bathroom. He asked me whether I required him to wait for me but I refused.
After a short while, I regained my composure to the point of sitting on the toilet and from outside the door came his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to rise right away but I did succeed to say thank you and shortly thereafter was able to move my limbs. I got myself home and spent the next few days healing from what turned out to be a severe stomach virus.
I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half and the big steelwork tools container he held – yet he rescued me, during a time when I was completely helpless.
Many times, life tends to make people guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that melts away that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a quality I adore about humanity.
