I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.

At the age of 19 years old, my morning travel was on an packed public transport. It was perpetually full and was consistently without any seats when I stepped aboard.

On one specific day, I started experiencing terribly ill while the vehicle swayed around every turn. I kept telling myself to persevere just a little longer so the bus could reached where I needed to get off, so I could then make a mad dash for the nearest washroom to throw up.

The bus was approaching the road leading to my stop and it dawned on me I would not be to make it. All of a sudden, it was like a curtain fell over me. Everything just went white and really quiet; as if someone cut the sound. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Luckily I was toward the front on the bus, allowing me to take several steps toward the driver and requested that the driver to stop, explaining to him I needed to be sick. He opened the entrance and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

I was determined to not get sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I forced myself up and endeavored to make my way to the park across the road, where I believed it would allow me to find some privacy near some foliage to be sick. Yet I apparently blacked out. I was aware of my body but I was unable to walk or see clearly, so I began inching my way to the park.

“Everything alright, love?”

In that instant, I was lifted up. There was a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I required to vomit. So he virtually supported my weight down into a nearby building and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me if I needed him to stay with me but I refused.

After a short while, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor when from beyond the door I heard his voice asking, “Do you need anything, love? Do you need anything?” I could not to get up right away but I was able to say thank you and shortly thereafter regained the function of my limbs. I got myself home and then spent the next few days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I did not see the stranger’s face – just his lower half and the big steelwork tools container he had with him – yet he rescued me, during a time when I was completely helpless.

Many times, life tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that protective shell. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.