In Such Poor Health I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.
During my nineteenth year, my regular journey to work involved an express bus. It was perpetually crowded and invariably became standing room only when I boarded.
On one specific day, I started experiencing incredibly sick as the bus rocked around every turn. I repeatedly told myself to hold on for a few more stops so the bus could arrived at where I needed to get off, at which point I could rush hurriedly toward the most convenient public toilet to be sick.
We were coming down the street towards the destination as I understood I would not be to hold on. Suddenly, it felt as if a fog descended upon me. The world became white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.
Fortunately, I stood near the front inside the vehicle, allowing me to take a few steps to ask the driver and asked the driver to open the doors, explaining to him I was going to be sick. The driver opened the entrance and I stumbled out on to the pavement.
My intention was to not get sick in view of six lanes of traffic, so I picked myself up and endeavored to stumble to the park opposite the street, where I thought I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. Yet I likely fainted. I sensed my physical self, yet I was unable to walk or see properly, so I started dragging myself toward the park.
“You right, love?”
At that moment, I got scooped up. There was an arm around my waist and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I told this kind passerby that I had to to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically helped me walk down into a close-by structure and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I needed him to wait for me but I declined.
A few minutes later, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from the other side of the door came him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to get up just then but did manage to say thank you and after a few more minutes regained the function of my legs. I made my way home passing the following days getting over what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed that man’s face – merely his legs and a large metal toolbox he held – but he helped me, during a time when I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society tends to make people self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that emotional callousness. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency leans toward compassion, something I love about my fellow humans.
