New York.– Jose Paulino, a 29-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, celebrated Christmas in a hospital bed after an eight-story fall that left him with 4 broken ribs.

The construction worker was helping dismantle scaffolding Thursday at a 20-story building in Manhattan. Suddenly, a plank off the 16th floor snapped under his feet. He felt himself falling and said he thought he’d die. Instead, he landed with a thud –on scaffolding off the eighth floor.

The Bronx resident is recovering at St. Vincent’s Hospital. He also hurt his neck, shoulder and leg. Visitors include his wife and two young children. Some brought the worker’s favorite comfort food: sancocho, a meat-potato-and-plaintain stew.