I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible Until a Fellow Passenger Practically Supported Me to the Toilets.

At the age of 19 years old, my daily commute was on an express bus. The vehicle was always jammed and invariably became without any seats when I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I started experiencing terribly ill while the vehicle rocked around the bends. I kept telling myself to endure another few kilometres so the bus could reached where I needed to get off, at which point I could rush hurriedly for the nearest public restroom to throw up.

We were coming down the street towards the stop when it dawned on me I wasn’t going to hold on. Suddenly, it seemed a veil came over me. My vision turned blank and silent; like someone had cut the sound. I said to myself, “I’m going to faint”.

Luckily I was close to the driver of the bus, allowing me to take a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to open the doors, telling him I was going to vomit. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited on to the pavement.

I was resolved not to vomit in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and started trying to stumble toward the green space opposite the street, thinking I could I could at least discreetly hide behind a bush to be sick. However I apparently fainted. I sensed my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk or see properly, so I began dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“You right, love?”

At that moment, someone picked me up. I felt an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “You right, love?” I told this unknown man that I required to vomit. So he virtually supported my weight down into an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to remain with me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I had recovered to the point of sitting down when from beyond the stall I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Do you need anything?” I could not to stand up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and following a brief period recovered the use of my feet. I returned home and spent the next few days healing from what turned out to be a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I did not see his features – merely his legs and a large steelwork tools container he had with him – but he saved me, at a moment I was completely helpless.

Many times, life can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that protective shell. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination is to be kind, a trait I cherish about humanity.