by Ginette Kirkpatrick
(Surrey, UK)
I popped into my local Waitrose to get a bit of shopping during my lunch hour a few weeks ago, and I saw an elderly lady outside who did not look well. She was very short of breath and seemed confused, so I helped her into the shop to sit on the seats they have by the tills.
I asked one of the shop assistants if there was a first aider on site as I was not sure if the lady needed medical assistance or if she just needed to sit for a bit.
Once I was happy she was with someone who could help her, I got on with my shopping. On the way out I stopped to check if the lady was OK. She seemed a bit brighter and thanked me for my help. She had just got into a bit of a panic as she had recently been mugged and was still a little scared of going out on her own.
While I was chatting to her, the shop assistant I had originally spoken to came over with the ladies shopping. She had checked what the lady had come in for and had been collecting it for her. She said she lived not far from her and was going to give her a lift back home during her lunch hour.
I was really touched by the shop assistant's generosity of spirit.