This afternoon I took my parents and my brother to see Yankee Stadium. We hopped on the 4 train when we were done.

Soon after the train left the 161st street station, I noticed a man standing behind us, and it looked like he was standing in a pool of blood. Almost immediately, other people around him noticed as well. Someone hit the call button as we entered the 149th street station and let the conductor know that there was someone bleeding in our car.

The man seemed not to be worried about it and walked off the train, leaving behind an enormous pool of blood. As the man got to the stairs he sat down, and someone alerted a police officer nearby. The police officer radioed for help. Now I could see blood gushing from the man’s leg, a pool of blood now forming around the stairs.

Then the man’s eyes shut and he fell back on the stairs. There were a few people gathered around him, mostly just calling for help. Monique asked the officer if someone should tourniquet his leg, but got no real response. She found a strap from the man’s backpack and wrapped it around his leg to stop the bleeding. A few of us tried to get the man’s attention and keep him conscious. He opened his eyes again, finally.

With the man conscious again, we tried to keep him that way until help arrived. Monique stood in front of him, talking to him and trying to keep his mind focused. Me and another guy fanned him with our jackets and hats, and tried to keep other people back. Someone offered a water bottle, which Monique used to give the man a drink, and pour some on his head. The whole time, the officer did his best to keep people back, but seemed like he would rather let everyone else tend to the man.

It seemed like forever until the EMTs arrived. When they finally did arrive, they wrapped the man’s leg. The odd thing is that they had no problem with Monique continuing to rub her fist over the man’s chest while they stopped the bleeding. For a while it seemed like she was in charge and they were just there helping her out! Finally, they put the man on a chair and lifted him up the stairs.

I was freaked out the whole time. I thought there was a good chance that I was going to watch a man die right in front of me, especially after seeing his eyes roll backwards several times. But not Monique. She was cool. She jumped in and took control, when the people who were supposed to be in control didn’t. She told me later that she never let the thought of this guy dying get into her head. She was sure that he was going to make it.