It's rare that one person can accomplish change for the greater good on their own. But every once in a while one individual is so courageous that they touch the lives of those around them in ways they don't even realize, enlightening others, providing strength, and renewing our sense of purpose and community. On the night of March 2, 2008, I got a call from PBA President John Rivera that a Miami-Dade officer had been shot, was in critical condition, and that he was on the way to Ryder Trauma Center.

When I arrived, I didn't know what to expect. As I approached the bedside of Officer Roberto Gonzalez, he asked who I was, and I told him that I was his guardian angel, and I tried to keep him laughing.

I quickly realized it wasn't very difficult – I had never met anyone in such a stressful circumstance that was more positive or upbeat than Robert. He was shot several times by a man with a prior felony record who, without the slightest hesitation, attempted to end the life of a cop.

I don't know if I would have been as big a person as Officer Gonzalez, had I been confronted with this guy running away from the scene of a commercial burglary in the middle of the night. Officer Gonzalez, alone, attempted to chase the suspect down, when Jhonell Harris turned on him and fired.

Harris was apprehended, due to the heroic efforts of Officer Gonzalez and the responding officers. Harris was charged with attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and theft (the gun that he was carrying was stolen).

I was floored by this rookie officer that I had never met before that night. The only thing Officer Gonzalez seemed concerned or worried about while lying on that gurney in the Trauma Center was the apprehension of the subject. When asked if he needed to be left alone to rest, he insisted that he was fine, and he assisted homicide detectives in their investigation of the shooting. Officer Gonzalez has asked me to convey his deepest thanks to his fellow officers, to the officers of other agencies around the County who offered assistance following the incident, and to all who have kept him in their thoughts and prayers. He wants everyone to know that he is anxious to return to work.

He said, "This is the reason I became a police officer, to put people like that behind bars and to make sure they stay there. This guy has no respect for authority and no respect for human life. I will be back to look for more like him." We get so bogged down in little things that we often forget the big picture, and that we all need to try to be bigger people for one another.

I just kept thinking that we complain all the time about the "perks" we aren't getting and envy others for what they have that we don't. We get lost in the minutiae of life. Many of us tend to operate as if "he who dies with the most toys wins." We lose sight of our purpose here. That is very easy to do these days.

And, all the while, Officer Gonzalez was willing to risk his own safety, his very life, in the face of fear, to protect people that he has never even met. I just keep remembering his smiling face in the hospital. Witnessing this kind of bravery and tenacity really does renew a sense of purpose.

My greatest wish for all of us is that we can be like Officer Gonzalez; that regardless of age, experience, position, hardship, or personal desire, we never lose our sense of purpose and our sense of what is right and most important in life.

Simone Marie Labrador is assistant general counsel for the PBA of Dade-County Florida.