In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible When a Man Practically Supported Me to the Toilets.

At the age of my late teens, my daily commute was on an crowded coach. It remained full and invariably became standing room only when I stepped aboard.

On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick while the vehicle swayed around the bends. I kept telling myself to persevere just a little longer until the bus got to where I needed to get off, and then I could rush hurriedly for the nearest public toilet to throw up.

As we neared the street towards my stop and I realised I wasn’t going to hold on. Suddenly, it was like a fog descended upon me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; like someone had muted everything. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Fortunately, I stood toward the front on the bus, so I managed a few steps toward the driver and told the operator to open the doors, explaining to him that I was about to be sick. The driver opened the bus doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.

I was resolved to avoid being sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and endeavored to stumble toward the green space opposite the street, thinking I could I could at least find some privacy near some foliage to vomit. Yet I must have fainted. I sensed my physical self, yet I was unable to walk or see clearly, leading me to start crawling towards the grassy area.

“Everything alright, love?”

Right then, someone picked me up. I sensed an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I required to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost carried me down into an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me if I needed him to stay with me but I declined.

Not long after, I felt better enough to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I was incapable to rise at that moment but did manage to thank him and following a brief period regained the function of my legs. I made my way home passing several days recovering from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.

I never saw that man’s face – just his lower half and a large steelwork tools container he had with him – but he helped me, at a moment I was completely helpless.

Often this world has a way of making you defensive, aggressive and competitive. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, something I love about humanity.