When Chris Trokey was born in 1985, he was a few weeks premature. He only weighed 3.2 pounds and was given a 50/50 chance of survival.
During the crucial 24-hour period after his birth, there was one person who worked tirelessly to make sure he would be able to go home in a stable condition. That was pediatrician Michael Shannon, and he saved Chris's life.
Chris never thought he would be able to return the favour until 2011, when, working as a paramedic for the Orange County Fire Authority, he and his team responded to a crash involving an SUV and a truck that was quickly catching fire.
By the time the paramedics arrived, the SUV was also becoming engulfed in flames and the driver's leg had already started to burn. Chris and his team struggled to free the man from the flames to give him emergency medical treatment.
It wasn't until they were already at the Mission Hospital that Chris made the connection. The man in the accident was Dr Shannon, the man who saved his life when he was a baby.
"I didn't know about it until I went to the hospital and started talking about it, DrShannon. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, Dr Shannon? That's when I found out,'" Chris said.
Dr Shannon had to spend 45 days recuperating at the hospital and lost his toes from the accident but he said he is thankful to be alive because of Chris.
"It's amazing to watch them all grow up, but to have one come back in your life, on a day you really need it, that's really incredible," he said.
The two met again for a recent charity event where they shared their incredible story. They also shared another new experience as they shaved their heads to raise money for the St Baldrick's charity, an organisation that helps children with cancer.
Since the accident, Chris shared that he has started his own family and is now a father. It comes as no surprise that his only choice for his son's pediatrician was Dr Shannon.
