GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...window washer?
Patients at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital had a front-row seat to an action-packed afternoon as superheroes scaled the building.
Six employees from S&K Building Services transformed into Batman, Flash, Hulk, Spiderman, Thor and Wonder Woman to rappel down the building and surprise patients outside their windows.
Noah Deimel had surgery on June 12, went home for six weeks and is back at Mary Free Bed for therapy.
He said seeing the superheroes right outside his window was "terrifying" because he would never like to do that, but "awesome" because he saw some of his favorites.
Derek Niemi is a high-rise window cleaner by day and a superhero by night.
He said events like this are well-known around the window-cleaning community and he's thrilled he finally got the chance to participate.
"It was a long time coming," Niemi said. "I've been doing this for 10 years, so this is something I've been waiting a long time for. It felt awesome."
He said for him, there was a heartfelt note to the event.
"My older brother passed away when he was 17 from cancer, so he spent a lot of time in the hospital and I know something like this would have brought a big smile and joy to him. And this is my way of giving back," Niemi said.
Niemi said he's already looking forward to donning his super gear once again.
"It's been a dream of mine for a really long time and I'm happy I was able to be a part of it today and looking forward to hopefully doing it again in the future," Niemi said.