Opening Our Hearts & Wallets

Pedro Perez, the window washer who survived after falling 11 stories and onto the roof of a car in San Francisco has been moved to a rehab facility.

SF Window Washer Who Survived Falling 11 Stories Touched By Outpour of Support, Donations: A window washer who survived after falling 11 stories and onto the roof of a car in San Francisco has been moved to a rehab facility. Pedro Perez continues to recover from injuries suffered during the late November fall. He is also learning that strangers have opened their hearts and wallets to help his family pay the bills. "He started crying because he couldn't understand how much people had helped and how much actually cared," said Monica Perez, his daughter. "It touched his heart that he is not going to have to worry about us as much as he thought."

The family had been living on workers comp, and hoped to raise $20,000 through a fund raising site to offset living expenses. So far, donations have topped $78,000 -- and many come with touching messages from donors who have never met Pedro Perez. Monica Perez said her father is doing better and is eager to follow his therapy. She added that her father does not remember the accident.

"We are lucky to still have him," she said.

Hello this is Monica Perez the daughter of Pedro Perez, I just wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts on behalf of my father and my family and thank everyone for all their support their generosity and loving comments for the family it means a lot to us to know that were not alone and that people are willing to give us what little they may have just to help us in this time of need. The outcome of the fundraiser has surpassed anything we could have hoped for thanks to all the donations we have gotten in these past days. It will be possible not only for me to go back to school in the summer but it also gives my father a piece of mind to know that we wont have to struggle any longer with the bills and that we are going to be okay. This will also help him concentrate more on his rehab' so he doesn't try to rush things just to try to get back to work. We hope that soon, we will have our father back home with his family where he belongs. Once again, I want to thank everyone for helping us through this difficult time and making the holiday season a more pleasant one than we had anticipated - MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEARS TO EVERYONE  - Perez Family.

Perez suffered "extensive brain trauma," fractured his pelvis, broke his arm and ruptured an artery in his right arm. Perez cannot walk, and it's unclear if he'll ever be able to. Still, Perez's memory is coming back, his wife said, and he started calling his family members by name recently. "He has improved a lot," she said. Alfredo Fletes, a spokesman for the Services Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, added that Perez is "recovering quickly," faster than doctors first thought.

If you would like to donate for another window cleaner in distress - please consider this man!