Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.

During my 19 years old, my morning travel meant taking an crowded coach. It was perpetually crowded and invariably became standing room only by the time I got on.

During a certain commute, I was feeling terribly ill when the coach swayed around each corner. I kept telling myself to hold on just a little longer so the bus could arrived at my destination, and then I could sprint quickly toward the most convenient washroom to vomit.

The bus was approaching the street towards the stop when it dawned on me I wasn’t going to make it. All of a sudden, it was like a veil came over me. The world became white and really quiet; like someone had turned off the audio. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver on the bus, allowing me to take a couple of steps forward and asked the driver to stop, telling him that I was about to vomit. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.

I was resolved not to vomit in view of a busy multi-lane road, so I forced myself up and began attempting to walk to the park on the other side, where I believed I’d at least be able to discreetly hide among some shrubs to be sick. Yet I likely lost consciousness. I could feel my body but I couldn’t walk or see properly, so I began inching my way to my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

At that moment, I got scooped up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I explained to this unknown man that I needed to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost carried me down into a nearby building and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I wanted him to wait for me but I said no.

After a short while, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit down and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Are you OK, love? Can I get you something?” I wasn’t able to rise at that moment but did manage to thank him and shortly thereafter recovered the use of my limbs. I returned home and then spent the following days getting over what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.

I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half and the big steelwork tools container he held – but he helped me, during a time when I was completely helpless.

Frequently, society tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that emotional callousness. He was proof that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, something I love in other people.