The heroic man who caught a young girl after she fell from a third-story window in Brooklyn now needs a few helping hands to get him back on his feet.
Stephen St. Bernard. 52, caught the 7-year-old autistic girl on July 17, after she fell from the air-conditioning unit she was dancing on in the Coney Island Houses.
At the time, he said he was thinking of his daughter when he made the catch.
"I think about my daughter, and you know, she's a little kid," he said.
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St. Bernard shredded his tendon by making the catch, and doctors say could take two months to heal.
He continues to recover in physical therapy, but the injury has kept this father of four from getting back to driving buses for the MTA, a job he's had for 14 years.
He was off-duty when he caught the girl, and disability covers 60 percent of his salary.
"That's the problem, but it's gonna get taken care of somehow," St. Bernard said.
Although this humble hero's never asked for help, many around him have looked for ways to help.
State Senator Diane Savino has asked the New York City Housing Authority to lower St. Bernard's rent at the Coney Island Houses as he continues to recover.
Despite the pain and hardship, though, says he has no regrets.
"As far as me getting hurt," he said, "I'd rather have it be me than that child."
