On a typical New York City June Saturday afternoon, in the Flatiron District panic quickly ensues as Axel Farhi, 63 collapses on the street, giving blank stares back at those who are calling out to him. Axel, along with his wife Besty 59, took a trip from France to visit their son and daughter Max and Claire. While walking back from eating in the afternoon, Max and his girlfriend are being walked to the subway station by the rest of the family, ready to part ways. 

Unfortunate circumstances change their plans for a homemade dinner at Max’s apartment in Queens. Axel is now laying on the sidewalk, unresponsive, with police officers and loved ones surrounded. Asserting the situation at hand is Officer Lily Graham with Officer Eddie Griffin, Graham takes control of the situation, kneeling towards Axel checking his pulse while calling his name. 

Bystanders circle around the situation while the family calls 911 while telling the officers that Axel takes blood-pressure medication. While being laid on his back, Officer Graham begins administering chest compressions in a steady rhythm. Sirens are heard in the back getting louder and louder as they approach the situation.

Officer Graham takes control even after the emergency response team shows up. Searching the back of the ambulance for a debilitator, returning back to Axel more than twice, giving him every resource she has to get his pulse going again. 

Eventually put on a gurney, Alex Farhii is taken to the NYU Langone Medical Center on First Avenue about a mile away. Behind the ambulance is Officer Griffin in a police car driving his family while telling them everything will be fine. 

Dr. Homam Ibrahim, a cardiologist, clears his blood clots and puts a stent in place. Ibrahim directs the family to be patient as they need to see if neurological damage is a concern. Axel stops this wait as he wakes trying to take out his oxygen tube, which is a good sign of no neurological damage. 

Axel Farhi, heart pumping and brain undamaged, is recovering at a friend’s house in Jersey City with a painted-like-view of Manhattan. 

Dan Berry, the journalist who covered the story did a very effective job, making the reader feel like they are a bystander on the scene. The story itself is very tragic and can be easily done in an insensitive and rushed way, Berry did the opposite. He was able to capture that fleeting panic of the family and bystanders with the seriousness of the situation described perfectly. 

He gave anecdotes about the couple’s past such as how they met, how long they have been married and what they are doing in the city. Respecting Farhi’s name and making the reader more empathetic towards the situation. Although there is a lack of quotes from the family, which could have given the reader a deeper understanding of what they were feeling, Berry does a good job with what he has.