In Such Poor Health I Was Unable to Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.
Back when I was nineteenth year, my regular journey to work meant taking an crowded coach. It remained crowded and would always be without any seats when I got on.
During a certain commute, I began feeling terribly ill when the coach rocked around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to endure just a little longer until the bus arrived at my destination, at which point I could make a mad dash to the closest public restroom to vomit.
The bus was approaching the street towards the stop when I realised I would not be to last. All of a sudden, it seemed a veil came over me. Everything just went blank and silent; as if someone turned off the audio. I said to myself, “I will lose consciousness”.
Fortunately, I stood toward the front on the bus, so I managed a few steps toward the driver and requested that the driver to open the doors, explaining to him that I was about to be sick. He promptly opened the doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.
I was determined to avoid being sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I forced myself up and began attempting to walk toward the green space across the road, thinking I could I’d at least be able to find some privacy near some foliage to vomit. But then I apparently fainted. I sensed my body but I couldn’t walk or see properly, so I started crawling towards my intended destination.
“Everything alright, love?”
In that instant, I was lifted up. There was a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I had to to vomit. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a close-by structure and put me into the female bathroom. He asked me if I wanted him to wait for me but I said no.
Not long after, I had recovered enough to sit down when from beyond the door came him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to stand up right away but I did succeed to express my gratitude and following a brief period was able to move my limbs. I got myself home and spent the next few days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.
I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – only his legs and a large steelwork tools container he was carrying – yet he rescued me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that undoes that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that our default setting leans toward compassion, something I love about humanity.
