I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an crowded coach. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be completely full by the time I boarded.

One particular morning, I was feeling terribly ill when the coach rocked around each corner. I kept telling myself to persevere for a few more stops so the bus could got to where I needed to get off, so I could then make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to be sick.

The bus was approaching the avenue close to the stop when I realised I wasn’t going to last. Suddenly, it was like a curtain fell over me. My vision turned hazy and muffled; similar to when one cut the sound. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver on the bus, so I managed a couple of steps forward and asked the driver to open the doors, explaining to him that I was about to get ill. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.

I was resolved to avoid being sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and started trying to stumble toward the green space opposite the street, thinking I could I could at least discreetly hide behind a bush to vomit. Yet I apparently blacked out. I was aware of my body but I was unable to walk and my vision was blurry, leading me to start inching my way to 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, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this mysterious stranger that I required to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically helped me walk down into a close-by structure and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired whether I required him to remain with me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I had recovered to the point of sitting down and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Are you OK, love? Do you need anything?” I could not to stand up right away but I did succeed to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my limbs. I returned home passing the next few days healing from which was a nasty tummy bug.

I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – only his legs along with a sizable steelwork tools container he held – but he helped me, during a time when I was completely helpless.

Often this world can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that undoes that protective shell. He demonstrated that our default setting leans toward compassion, something I love about my fellow humans.