I Was So Ill I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of 19 years old, my regular journey to work meant taking an packed public transport. The vehicle was always full and was consistently completely full once I boarded.

On one specific day, I was feeling quite nauseous when the coach rocked around every turn. I repeatedly told myself to hold on for a few more stops before the bus got to where I needed to get off, at which point I could rush hurriedly to the closest public toilet to throw up.

As we neared the road leading to the destination as I realised I wasn’t going to make it. All of a sudden, it seemed a veil came over me. The world became hazy and muffled; as if someone cut the sound. My mind raced, “I will lose consciousness”.

Fortunately, I stood close to the driver inside the vehicle, so I managed a few steps to ask the driver and asked the driver to open the doors, informing him I needed to be sick. The driver opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped out onto the street.

My intention was not to vomit in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I forced myself up and began attempting to make my way to the park across the road, thinking I could I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. However I likely blacked out. I could feel my body but I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I began dragging myself toward the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

Right then, someone picked me up. I sensed an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the mysterious stranger that I needed to get to a bathroom. So he virtually supported my weight into a close-by structure and placed me into the female bathroom. He inquired if I needed him to wait for me but I declined.

Not long after, I regained my composure enough to sit on the toilet and from the other side of the stall I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to rise just then but I was able to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes regained the function of my limbs. I returned home passing several days getting over what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

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

Many times, life has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that protective shell. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination is to be kind, something I love in other people.