Feeling So Sick I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.
During my my late teens, my regular journey to work was on an crowded coach. It remained crowded and was consistently without any seats once I boarded.
One particular morning, I was feeling terribly ill when the coach rocked around the bends. I repeatedly told myself to persevere for a few more stops until the bus got to where I needed to get off, and then I could rush hurriedly for the nearest public restroom to vomit.
The bus was approaching the road leading to my stop and I understood I was unable to make it. All of a sudden, it felt as if a curtain fell over me. My vision turned blank and silent; similar to when one turned off the audio. My mind raced, “I’m going to faint”.
Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front inside the vehicle, so I took several steps forward and told the operator to pull over, informing him that I was about to be sick. He promptly opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped onto the sidewalk.
I was resolved to not get sick in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I forced myself up and began attempting to stumble to the park on the other side, where I believed I could at least secretly conceal myself behind a bush to vomit. Yet I must have fainted. I could feel my limbs, but walking was impossible and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards my intended destination.
“Everything alright, love?”
Right then, someone picked me up. There was an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “You right, love?” I explained to this unknown man that I required to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost supported my weight into an adjacent building and placed me into the female bathroom. He asked me whether I required him to stay with me but I refused.
After a short while, I had recovered sufficiently to sit down when from beyond the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I wasn’t able to stand up just then but did manage to thank him and following a brief period was able to move my limbs. I made my way home and spent the following days getting over what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.
I never glimpsed that man’s face – just his lower half and the big metal toolbox he had with him – but he helped me, at a moment I was completely helpless.
Frequently, society can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that emotional callousness. He was proof that our default setting is to be kind, a trait I cherish in other people.
