In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.
During my 19 years old, my morning travel was on an express bus. The vehicle was always jammed and invariably became completely full by the time I boarded.
On one specific day, I began feeling terribly ill as the bus lurched around each corner. I kept telling myself to persevere for a few more stops until the bus got to where I needed to get off, at which point I could make a mad dash toward the most convenient public restroom to throw up.
The bus was approaching the street towards my stop and I understood I wasn’t going to last. All of a sudden, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned white and really quiet; like someone had muted everything. My mind raced, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, allowing me to take a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to open the doors, explaining to him I needed to get ill. The driver opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped onto the sidewalk.
I was resolved not to vomit in front of six lanes of traffic, so I picked myself up and endeavored to walk to the park opposite the street, where I thought I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to vomit. Yet I apparently blacked out. I sensed my limbs, but I was unable to walk and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards the grassy area.
“Everything alright, love?”
At that moment, someone picked me up. There was someone holding me and a stranger inquired, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this unknown man that I had to to vomit. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a close-by structure and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I declined.
A few minutes later, I regained my composure enough to sit on the restroom floor and from the other side of the stall I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Can I get you something?” I wasn’t able to stand up right away but I did succeed to thank him and following a brief period recovered the use of my feet. I made my way home and spent several days getting over what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.
I never glimpsed that man’s face – merely his legs and a large steelwork tools container he had with him – but he saved me, when I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society tends to make people defensive, aggressive and competitive. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish in other people.