In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

During my my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an crowded coach. It remained full and was consistently completely full by the time I boarded.

One particular morning, I was feeling terribly ill as the bus swayed around each corner. I kept telling myself to hold on another few kilometres before the bus reached my stop, at which point I could rush hurriedly to the closest public toilet to be sick.

We were coming down the avenue close to the destination as I understood I wasn’t going to hold on. In an instant, it seemed a veil came over me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; like someone had turned off the audio. I said to myself, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver on the bus, allowing me to take a few steps to ask the driver and told the operator to pull over, telling him I needed to vomit. He opened the doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.

I was resolved to not get sick in view of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and endeavored to stumble to the park across the road, where I believed it would allow me to secretly conceal myself behind a bush to throw up. But then I apparently fainted. I was aware of my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk or see clearly, so I started crawling towards my intended destination.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, I was lifted up. I felt an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “Everything alright, love?” I explained to this unknown man that I had to to get to a bathroom. So he virtually helped me walk into a nearby building and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I had recovered to the point of sitting down when from beyond the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I was incapable to rise just then but I did succeed to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter regained the function of my legs. I returned home and then spent several days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half along with a sizable steelwork tools container 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 guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that emotional callousness. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish in other people.