Feeling So Sick Walking Was Impossible When a Man Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.

At the age of my late teens, my daily commute involved an crowded coach. It was perpetually jammed and would always be standing room only once I boarded.

One particular morning, I was feeling quite nauseous while the vehicle swayed around every turn. I kept telling myself to hold on another few kilometres before the bus reached my stop, and then I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to throw up.

As we neared the street towards the destination as I understood I would not be to make it. Suddenly, it was like a fog descended upon me. The world became white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. My mind raced, “I’m going to faint”.

Luckily I was toward the front on the bus, so I managed a couple of steps forward and told the operator to pull over, telling him that I was about to get ill. He promptly opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped on to the pavement.

I was determined to avoid being sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and started trying to stumble to the park opposite the street, where I believed I could at least discreetly hide among some shrubs to be sick. Yet I likely blacked out. I sensed my limbs, but I was unable to walk and my vision was blurry, so I began dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

Right then, I was lifted up. I felt someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “Everything alright, love?” I explained to this mysterious stranger that I needed to be sick. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into an adjacent building and put me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I needed him to wait for me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I had recovered enough to sit on the restroom floor and from the other side of the door I heard him inquire, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to rise at that moment but did manage to thank him and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my limbs. I returned home passing the next few days healing from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I did not see that man’s face – just his lower half along with a sizable metal toolbox he was carrying – but he saved me, during a time when I was completely helpless.

Many times, life can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His act was the type of kindness that melts away that emotional callousness. He was proof that our default setting leans toward compassion, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.