In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.
At the age of nineteenth year, my regular journey to work involved an express bus. It remained full and would always be completely full by the time I boarded.
During a certain commute, I began feeling incredibly sick as the bus swayed around each corner. I repeatedly told myself to persevere just a little longer so the bus could got to my destination, at which point I could sprint quickly to the closest washroom to vomit.
As we neared the street towards the destination as I understood I was unable to last. Suddenly, it was like a curtain fell over me. The world became white and really quiet; as if someone cut the sound. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.
Fortunately, I stood close to the driver on the bus, so I took a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to pull over, explaining to him that I was about to get ill. He promptly opened the bus doors and I weakly exited out onto the street.
My intention was to avoid being sick before multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and began attempting to walk to the park opposite the street, where I believed I could at least discreetly hide among some shrubs to throw up. But then I must have fainted. I was aware of my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see properly, leading me to start inching my way to the park.
“Are you okay, dear?”
In that instant, I was lifted up. There was an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I explained to this kind passerby that I needed to be sick. Therefore, he almost supported my weight over to a nearby building and placed me into the female bathroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to remain with me but I declined.
After a short while, I regained my composure enough to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Are you OK, love? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to stand up just then but I was able to thank him and after a few more minutes regained the function of my limbs. I got myself home and then spent the next few days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.
I did not see the stranger’s face – merely his legs and the big metal toolbox he was carrying – but he saved me, at a moment 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 melts away that protective shell. He demonstrated that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.
