I Was So Ill I Couldn’t Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of my late teens, my daily commute involved an express bus. It remained crowded and invariably became without any seats by the time I got on.

During a certain commute, I started experiencing quite nauseous as the bus swayed around each corner. I repeatedly told myself to hold on another few kilometres before the bus reached my destination, at which point I could make a mad dash toward the most convenient public restroom to vomit.

We were coming down the street towards my stop and it dawned on me I was unable to hold on. Suddenly, it was like a fog descended upon me. My vision turned white and really quiet; as if someone turned off the audio. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Luckily I was near the front inside the vehicle, so I took several steps forward and requested that the driver to open the doors, explaining to him I needed to vomit. He promptly opened the bus doors and I hurriedly stepped out onto the street.

My intention was not to vomit in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and started trying to make my way across to the park on the other side, where I thought I could at least find some privacy near some foliage to vomit. Yet I apparently blacked out. I sensed my body but I was unable to walk or see clearly, leading me to start crawling towards the park.

“Everything alright, love?”

Right then, someone picked me up. I sensed someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this unknown man that I needed to be sick. So he virtually supported my weight into a nearby building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I said no.

Not long after, I felt better enough to sit on the toilet and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Are you feeling better, dear? Do you need anything?” I was incapable to rise right away but I did succeed to say thank you and shortly thereafter recovered the use of my legs. I made my way home and spent the next few days healing from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I never glimpsed his features – merely his legs and the big container for tools he had with him – but he helped me, when I was in my weakest state.

Frequently, society can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that protective shell. He was proof that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, something I love in other people.