(Photos: Alan Chaniewski/Peter Getz)
In 1998, a fire broke out in a house in Hartford, Connecticut. Inside was 5-year old Josibelk Aponte. Officer Peter Getz, a now-retired police detective, responded to the scene. A firefighter put the little girl in Getz's arms.
Her heart had stopped.
Getz carried her away from the building and put her in the back of his patrol car. While his partner rushed them to the hospital, Officer Getz performed CPR on Josibelk.
The little girl survived and thrived. She just graduated from college and Getz was there to see her walk. The Hartford Courant reports:
About two years ago, Aponte contacted him out of the blue through Facebook.
"Every once in a while I get nostalgic and I want to know what happened," Aponte said. "So I did what everyone does: I Googled my name."
Her research turned up an article that identified Getz, and through some "Facebook stalking," she found him.
The two get together regularly, sometimes meeting for lunch. They talk about Getz's kids, his dog, how Aponte is doing in school.
Now, with a degree in accounting and a job at Walston & Ignagni in South Windsor, the conversations have turned to her plans for the future.
"To see the outcome, to see how successful she's been, makes my heart beat faster," Getz said.
-via Ace of Spades HQ