I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Essentially Lifted Me to the Toilets.

Back when I was my late teens, my daily commute involved an packed public transport. It remained full and would always be standing room only when I boarded.

During a certain commute, I began feeling terribly ill when the coach rocked around the bends. I kept telling myself to endure just a little longer until the bus arrived at my stop, so I could then make a mad dash toward the most convenient public toilet to throw up.

We were coming down the road leading to my stop and it dawned on me I would not be to make it. Suddenly, it was like a veil came over me. The world became white and really quiet; as if someone turned off the audio. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Fortunately, I stood close to the driver on the bus, so I took several steps to ask the driver and asked the driver to pull over, explaining to him I needed to get ill. He opened the bus doors and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

I was resolved to avoid being sick before six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and began attempting to stumble toward the green space opposite the street, where I thought I’d at least be able to discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. Yet I likely lost consciousness. I was aware of my physical self, yet I was unable to walk or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, someone picked me up. I felt a strong arm supporting me and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I explained to this mysterious stranger that I required to vomit. Therefore, he almost carried me over to a close-by structure and placed me into the female bathroom. He asked me if I wanted him to stay with me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the toilet and from outside the door I heard him inquire, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to get up just then but I was able to express my gratitude and following a brief period recovered the use of my limbs. I made my way home passing the next few days getting over what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I never saw that man’s face – merely his legs and the big container for tools he was carrying – but he helped me, at a moment I was in my weakest state.

Frequently, society tends to make people guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that undoes that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that our default setting leans toward compassion, something I love about my fellow humans.