I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of 19 years old, my daily commute involved an express bus. It remained full and would always be completely full once I boarded.

On one specific day, I was feeling terribly ill as the bus lurched around the bends. I kept telling myself to hold on for a few more stops before the bus arrived at my stop, so I could then rush hurriedly for the nearest public restroom to vomit.

As we neared the street towards my stop and it dawned on me I was unable to make it. In an instant, it was like a fog descended upon me. The world became white and really quiet; as if someone muted everything. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Fortunately, I stood near the front inside the vehicle, so I managed several steps forward and asked the driver to open the doors, explaining to him that I was about to vomit. He opened the doors and I hurriedly stepped out onto the street.

I was determined to not get sick in view of six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and endeavored to walk to the park opposite the street, where I thought I could at least find some privacy behind a bush to vomit. However I apparently fainted. I could feel my limbs, but I was unable to walk or see clearly, leading me to start inching my way to the park.

“Are you okay, dear?”

Right then, someone picked me up. I felt an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I told this mysterious stranger that I required to be sick. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a nearby building and guided me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I wanted him to stay with me but I refused.

Not long after, I felt better to the point of sitting down when from beyond the stall I heard him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to get up just then but I did succeed to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my legs. I made my way home and then spent several days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never saw the stranger’s face – merely his legs and a large metal toolbox he was carrying – but he helped me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Often this world can make you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. What he did was the kind of action that melts away that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency leans toward compassion, something I love in other people.