In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible Until a Fellow Passenger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.

Back when I was 19 years old, my morning travel involved an crowded coach. It was perpetually crowded and would always be completely full when I stepped aboard.

On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick when the coach rocked around the bends. I kept telling myself to hold on for a few more stops before the bus got to where I needed to get off, so I could then sprint quickly for the nearest public toilet to be sick.

We were coming down the street towards the destination as it dawned on me I wasn’t going to last. All of a sudden, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned blank and silent; as if someone muted everything. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Fortunately, I stood near the front inside the vehicle, so I managed several steps forward and told the operator to open the doors, telling him that I was about to vomit. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.

I was determined not to vomit in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I gathered myself and began attempting to make my way toward the green space on the other side, where I believed I’d at least be able to discreetly hide behind a bush to vomit. However I apparently blacked out. I sensed my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see properly, so I began crawling towards the park.

“Are you okay, dear?”

In that instant, someone picked me up. I sensed someone holding me and heard a man say, “Everything alright, love?” I told this kind passerby that I required to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost carried me down into a close-by structure and placed me into the female bathroom. He asked me if I wanted him to remain with me but I declined.

After a short while, I had recovered sufficiently to sit down and from the other side of the door came him ask, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I could not to rise at that moment but did manage to thank him and after a few more minutes regained the function of my feet. I returned home passing the following days getting over what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I did not see that man’s face – just his lower half and the big container for tools he had with him – but he saved me, during a time when I was at my most vulnerable.

Frequently, society has a way of making you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that protective shell. He was proof that people’s natural inclination is towards kindness, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.