When was the last time you felt really bad/sad/sorry for a stranger?

Asked by OpryLeigh (25305) November 3rd, 2014 from iPhone

Yesterday my dad was involved in a car accident so I took him to the hospital to get his neck looked at and there were a fair few people in the waiting room. While I was people watching I noticed a middle aged lady who had clearly seen better days slumped in a wheel chair and she appeared to be sleeping. She had leaves and twigs caught in her hair and stuck to her clothes and a teddy on her lap.

Eventually we were called in for dad to be checked over (he’s fine, just muscular discomfort) and when we came out the woman had moved herself to the back of the waiting room and was sobbing her heart out while cuddling the teddy very tightly. None of the staff seemed to pay her any attention throughout all of this. I felt so sad for her and couldn’t help but wonder what her story was. Dad said he also felt sorry for her, he got the impression that she was drunk and the staff were just letting her sober up, hence why they didn’t pay her any attention for the two and a bit hours we were in there but, even if that was the case she was clearly hurting a lot. Today I regret not saying anything to her but I didn’t know what to do.

Can you recall a time when you felt really sorry for an individual you didn’t know.