Josi Aponte just recently graduated, but she may never have gotten that opportunity if it wasn’t for one of the guests at her ceremony.
Nineteen years ago, her apartment building caught fire. Officer Peter Getz arrived at the scene where a firefighter met him coming out of the building. The firefighter was carrying a little girl in his arms; covered in soot, she hung limply from his grasp.
Getz took her into his arms and quickly realized that she was in terrible condition due to smoke and ash inhalation. He made a snap decision. It was obvious that in the ten minutes it would take an ambulance to get to the scene, this little girl was going to die.
The officer called his partner over, telling him to get in the squad car and hammer down while he gently laid the small person in the back seat. Getz got in with her so he could begin CPR, as she was going into cardiac arrest.
Incredibly, she was breathing on her own by the time they arrived at the hospital!
Doctor’s determined that if he waited for even a few more precious seconds for paramedics to arrive, she most likely would have expired. Unfortunately her cousin, and later her uncle did perish from the fire.
Today Getz says he was just doing his job. He gives credit to everyone saying the firefighters pulled her from immediate danger and the doctors brought her back to stable condition. Thanks to everyone’s contributions, “…we still have a beautiful young woman still on the face of the earth.”
He continued to visit Josi while she recovered in the hospital. Getz even gave her a teddy bear when her uncle died from his injuries, a memento she still has to this day. He followed her progress in school for years up until her family moved away.
Two years ago, Josi was looking around on the internet where she came across the picture of officer Getz rushing her to his car. She searched for him and sent him a message as soon as she got his contact information. They began corresponding again and have stayed in touch since.
When her college graduation came around, she knew he had to be there. Getz choked up a bit upon receiving the invitation. He couldn’t help but swell up with pride and admiration at her accomplishments.
“There are only a few moments that are so important in life,” Josi commented. “I wanted to share my graduation with everyone who’s important to me, who have been there for me, and who helped me through tough times.”
“He saved me. I’m so grateful for him because we always call him my guardian angel.”
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