In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

During my my late teens, my morning travel involved an express bus. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be completely full once I boarded.

One particular morning, I started experiencing incredibly sick while the vehicle swayed around every turn. I kept telling myself to persevere just a little longer until the bus arrived at my destination, at which point I could make a mad dash to the closest washroom to vomit.

We were coming down the road leading to my stop and I realised I wasn’t going to hold on. In an instant, it was like a curtain fell over me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; as if someone cut the sound. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Thankfully, I was positioned near the front inside the vehicle, so I managed several steps forward and told the operator to pull over, explaining to him that I was about to vomit. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited onto the sidewalk.

My intention was to not get sick in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and began attempting to stumble toward the green space on the other side, where I thought it would allow me to discreetly hide among some shrubs to throw up. But then I likely fainted. I was aware of my body but walking was impossible or see clearly, so I started inching my way to the park.

“Are you okay, dear?”

Right then, I got scooped up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “You right, love?” I explained to this mysterious stranger that I required to vomit. Thus, he practically carried me down into an adjacent building and put me into the female bathroom. He asked me whether I required him to wait for me but I declined.

A few minutes later, I had recovered enough to sit down and from the other side of the stall I heard him inquire, “Are you OK, love? Can I get you something?” I could not to stand up at that moment but I was able to thank him and following a brief period recovered the use of my legs. I got myself home and then spent several days getting over which was a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never saw the stranger’s face – only his legs along with a sizable steelwork tools container he had with him – but he helped me, during a time when I was at my most vulnerable.

Frequently, society tends to make people guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that protective shell. He was proof that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, a quality I adore about humanity.