When Kris McGourlick offered her hand to an agitated man on public transit, she was simply doing what she felt was right.
Little did she know that her simple act of compassion would go on to inspire people all over the world.
“It really blows me away,” McGourlick told CTV News. “It’s very overwhelming, as a matter of fact.”
The jovial Surrey, B.C. senior was riding the SkyTrain this week when, according to witnesses, a towering man started swearing and acting erratically. While others watched nervously from the sidelines, McGourlick reached out to him.
“His hand was hanging there so I just extended myself to him and just grabbed hold of his hand,” she said. “He completely calmed right down.”
They rode hand-in-hand until he reached his stop, at which point witnesses said he thanked her before walking off.
Fellow Surrey resident Ehab Taha was touched by her gesture, and decided to capture it with a photo. After he uploaded it to Facebook with a brief summary of what happened, it was shared more than 16,000 times in a matter of days.
“When you put others before yourself, it’s an incredible act,” Taha said. “I thought she was an angel.”
McGourlick doesn’t have a computer, however, and was unaware of the fuss until Thursday, when she received a surprising phone call from a friend.
“She says, ‘You’re all over Facebook!’” McGourlick recounted with a laugh.
Knowing that moment touched so many people has moved her deeply. McGourlick, who has two sons around the same age as the man she helped, said she hopes others will open their hearts and show compassion to the people around them.
“If my children were in distress I would hope someone would reach out to them. That’s what it was all about,” she said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos
I saw the most incredible display of humanity on the sky train. A six foot five man suffering from drug abuse and\or...
Posted by Ehab Taha on Tuesday, February 2, 2016
