I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to the Toilets.

At the age of 19 years old, my regular journey to work involved an express bus. The vehicle was always crowded and would always be standing room only once I boarded.

One particular morning, I started experiencing incredibly sick when the coach rocked around each corner. I kept telling myself to endure just a little longer before the bus arrived at my destination, so I could then make a mad dash for the nearest washroom to throw up.

As we neared the street towards the stop when I understood I would not be to last. All of a sudden, it felt as if a veil came over me. Everything just went white and really quiet; as if someone cut the sound. I said to myself, “I will lose consciousness”.

Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver inside the vehicle, so I took a few steps toward the driver and told the operator to stop, informing him that I was about to be sick. He opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped onto the sidewalk.

I was resolved not to vomit before six lanes of traffic, so I picked myself up and began attempting to walk toward the green space across the road, where I believed I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. Yet I apparently lost consciousness. I could feel my limbs, but I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I started dragging myself toward the park.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, I was lifted up. I felt someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I told this unknown man that I needed to vomit. Therefore, he almost helped me walk into a close-by structure and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired whether I required him to stay with me but I refused.

After a short while, I regained my composure to the point of sitting on the toilet and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Are you OK, love? Do you need anything?” I could not to get up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter recovered the use of my limbs. I returned home and then spent several days getting over what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I never glimpsed that man’s face – merely his legs along with a sizable metal toolbox he had with him – yet he rescued me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Often this world has a way of making you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His act was the type of kindness that melts away that protective shell. He was proof that humanity’s innate tendency is to be kind, a quality I adore about humanity.