Over the past five days, 43-year-old Paul Gibble went from being homeless to finding an old friend named Ron Acker who gave him a place to stay, to becoming a local hero.
But the incident that made him a true life-saver has left him with a mental image that he just can't shake.
"It hurts me to see a little girl who has a long life and see her floating on the bottom of the pool," Gibble said.
Paul was in the backyard when the Acker's nieces and nephews came over for a visit.
He was the only other person nearby when 2-year-old Adryionna Rivera accidentally tripped and fell into the pool.
By the time Paul realized what happened, Adryionna had been underwater for approximately 60 seconds. So he quickly pulled her out and performed CPR which he learned in his younger years as a paramedic for the Pottsgrove Fire Company.
"All of a sudden I felt the body jerk, I laid her on the side, a lot of water came out, at least two cups of water," Gibble said.
48 hours later, Adryionna is out of the hospital, fully recovered, and back in the pool.
Meantime, Ron Acker says that while the big story here is how his down-trodden friend saved his niece, the second headline is the value of showing that the homeless are people just like the rest of us.
"No matter what they do or how hard they try, it just seems they're not getting anywhere and they give up, so if somebody is there, that's a stepping stone for them," Acker said.
Meantime, Paul Gibble says he hopes to get a job soon and rent an apartment somewhere nearby.
After all, he says he needs to stay in Reading to work his other job and Adryionna's guardian angel.
"That girl and I have a bond. To see her eyes open and move and see her body move, that's the best thing I ever thought of in my life, part of my soul," Gibble said hugging young Adryionna.
