I was taking bus no. 5 (northbound around 3:00 pm) yesterday, and a hefty man boarded. He paid cash for the ticket and had this very calm, gentle smile on his face. He was using support to walk and moved slowly to the front sideways seat. I was sitting in the first double seat.
He was dressed fine, nothing out of the ordinary. After a bit, I started noticing a strong smell, like rotten meat, and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Then I noticed his leg.
One side of his jeans was torn, which looked intentional, probably to fit his leg. He was wearing socks and shoes, but the part of his leg that was visible was extremely swollen, like it was about to burst. The color was terrifying. Blue, dark, and patchy with other shades that didn’t look human anymore. It looked like something was seriously, dangerously wrong.
I don’t know if it was diabetes-related, gangrene, or something else, but it looked incredibly painful. What shook me the most was that he was still smiling, calm, almost peaceful. I can’t imagine how he was enduring that kind of pain, or how long he’d been living with it.
I honestly didn’t know what to do. I just sat there, frozen, feeling useless. I can’t stop thinking about whether he’ll even survive in this healthcare system.
I couldn’t sleep after. Between this and hearing about a nurse being murdered in Minnesota, life just feels unbearably unfair. It made me feel like I’m living comfortably and selfishly, taking things for granted while others are suffering in ways I can’t even comprehend.
If anyone has thoughts: is there anything one can or should do in situations like this? If I see something like this again, is there a way to help without overstepping or making things worse? x-posted in r/SeattleWA was well
I don’t know. Just needed to get this off my chest.
submitted by /u/Technical_Monk_6521
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