I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of my late teens, my morning travel involved an crowded coach. It was perpetually jammed and was consistently without any seats by the time I got on.

During a certain commute, I began feeling terribly ill when the coach swayed around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to persevere another few kilometres before the bus arrived at where I needed to get off, and then I could rush hurriedly toward the most convenient public toilet to vomit.

As we neared the road leading to my stop and it dawned on me I wasn’t going to last. In an instant, it felt as if a veil came over me. My vision turned blank and silent; like someone had muted everything. I said to myself, “I will lose consciousness”.

Thankfully, I was positioned near the front on the bus, so I took a few steps to ask the driver and requested that the driver to stop, informing him I needed to vomit. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.

My intention was to avoid being sick before a busy multi-lane road, so I forced myself up and began attempting to stumble toward the green space across the road, thinking I could I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to vomit. But then I must have lost consciousness. I could feel my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, so I began crawling towards my intended destination.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, I got scooped up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this kind passerby that I had to to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I refused.

A few minutes later, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the door came his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to stand up right away but I was able to thank him and shortly thereafter was able to move my limbs. I got myself home and spent the next few days recovering from what turned out to be a severe stomach virus.

I never glimpsed his features – only his legs and a large steelwork tools container he was carrying – yet he rescued me, at a moment I was completely helpless.

Frequently, society tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that hardening of the heart. He demonstrated that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish in other people.