Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to a Restroom.
During my my late teens, my morning travel was on an crowded coach. It was perpetually crowded and would always be standing room only when I got on.
One particular morning, I was feeling terribly ill as the bus rocked around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to endure another few kilometres until the bus got to my destination, at which point I could sprint quickly for the nearest public toilet to be sick.
The bus was approaching the road leading to the destination as I realised I would not be to last. Suddenly, it was like a fog descended upon me. My vision turned blank and silent; similar to when one muted everything. I said to myself, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver of the bus, so I took several steps forward and asked the driver to stop, explaining to him I was going to vomit. He opened the doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.
I was resolved to avoid being sick before a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and started trying to walk across to the park opposite the street, thinking I could it would allow me to find some privacy behind a bush to vomit. However I likely lost consciousness. I sensed my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.
“Everything alright, love?”
At that moment, I got scooped up. There was a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the mysterious stranger that I required to vomit. So he virtually supported my weight over to a nearby building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me whether I required him to stay with me but I said no.
A few minutes later, I felt better enough to sit down when from beyond the door I heard him inquire, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to stand up right away but did manage to say thank you and after a few more minutes was able to move my legs. I returned home and spent the next few days getting over what turned out to be a horrible case of gastroenteritis.
I never glimpsed that man’s face – merely his legs and a large container for tools he was carrying – but he helped me, at a moment I was in my weakest state.
Frequently, society can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that undoes that protective shell. He was proof that our default setting leans toward compassion, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.
