In Such Poor Health I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.

Back when I was my late teens, my daily commute was on an express bus. It was perpetually crowded and would always be without any seats once I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I was feeling incredibly sick as the bus rocked around every turn. I continuously reassured myself to persevere another few kilometres so the bus could reached my stop, so I could then make a mad dash for the nearest washroom to vomit.

We were coming down the avenue close to my stop and I realised I wasn’t going to hold on. Suddenly, it seemed a veil came over me. My vision turned hazy and muffled; like someone had muted everything. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Luckily I was near the front on the bus, allowing me to take a few steps toward the driver and requested that the driver to pull over, telling him that I was about to be sick. The driver opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped on to the pavement.

I was resolved to avoid being sick before six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and endeavored to make my way toward the green space on the other side, thinking I could it would allow me to discreetly hide behind a bush to throw up. Yet I apparently blacked out. I could feel my limbs, but I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards the grassy area.

“You right, love?”

In that instant, I got scooped up. I felt a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “You right, love?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I needed to get to a bathroom. So he virtually helped me walk over to a close-by structure and put me into the female bathroom. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I refused.

A few minutes later, I regained my composure to the point of sitting on the restroom floor and from outside the door came him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to rise right away but did manage to thank him and shortly thereafter regained the function of my feet. I returned home and spent the following days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – only his legs and the big metal toolbox he was carrying – but he saved me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Often this world tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. His act was the type of kindness that melts away that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.