Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Practically Supported Me to a Restroom.
Back when I was 19 years old, my morning travel was on an packed public transport. The vehicle was always crowded and would always be without any seats by the time I stepped aboard.
On one specific day, I started experiencing incredibly sick when the coach rocked around the bends. I repeatedly told myself to endure for a few more stops until the bus reached my stop, and then I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to be sick.
We were coming down the road leading to the stop when it dawned on me I was unable to make it. In an instant, it felt as if a veil came over me. The world became white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. I said to myself, “I am about to pass out”.
Fortunately, I stood toward the front of the bus, so I took a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to open the doors, explaining to him I needed to be sick. He opened the bus doors and I hurriedly stepped out onto the street.
I was determined to not get sick before multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and started trying to stumble to the park on the other side, where I thought I’d at least be able to find some privacy among some shrubs to be sick. However I likely blacked out. I sensed my limbs, but I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards my intended destination.
“Are you okay, dear?”
In that instant, I got scooped up. I felt someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I required to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically helped me walk into an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I refused.
Not long after, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit on the toilet and from the other side of the stall I heard him ask, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I could not to stand up right away but I was able to say thank you and after a few more minutes regained the function of my legs. I returned home and spent the next few days healing from what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.
I did not see that man’s face – merely his legs and a large container for tools he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when I was completely helpless.
Frequently, society tends to make people self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that protective shell. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish about humanity.
