SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) — The family of a South Florida school principal, who was critically injured in an accident, hopes to replenish the blood supply of the hospital that saved him.
In the first of four blood drives being held over the next three days, loved ones joined perfect strangers as they gave blood at Kendall Regional Medical Center. The events are their way of paying tribute to Javier Perez, the principal at South Dade Senior High.
"We’re very sad and devastated with the accident and what happened," said Connie, a family friend, "and the least we can do is give out some blood back to the community."
Perez remains at Kendall Regional Medical Center in serious condition after being pinned by an SUV, April 26. The vehicle smashed through a fence at a baseball field in Tamiami Park as he watched his son play T-ball.
Both his legs were amputated in order to save his life.
Participants at Thursday evening’s blood drive wore black T-shirts that read "(hash)JaviStrong" as a show of support. Perez’s wife said the events are their way of giving back to the Trauma Center’s medical staff for saving her husband’s life.
"As he’s used a lot of blood, there are other people in the community as well who are using blood, and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring," said participant Monica Marino.
The community has stood by the high school leader in the form of prayer vigils and an outpouring of support on social media, including the hashtag "Pray4Perez."
Perez’s family has learned firsthand just how important the blood supply is, and those who came forward to help said it was the right thing to do. "It is a terrible, terrible thing that happened to him, and it’s devastating, and it’s devastating for the family," said participant Ana Valdez. "We know somewhat what they’re going through, and just to help them and to be able to give to the community also, we decided to just run down here and help."
Perez’s family has set up a GoFundMe page in order to raise money for his treatment: www.gofundme.com/javiperez. As of Thursday evening, it has raised almost $120,000.
They have also asked the community for continued prayers.
The blood drives in order to give back to the hospital have been scheduled as follows:
Kendall Regional Medical Center
Thursday, May 5 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
South Dade Senior High
Friday, May 6 from 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Senior High
Friday, May 6 from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Kendall Regional Medical Center
Saturday, May 7, from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.