When Dr. Michael Shannon worked through the night to keep premature baby Chris Trokey alive thirty years ago, he never expected that the tiny 3.2 pound baby boy he rescued would return the favor.
Reunited this week at a fundraiser for childhood cancer research, the two told KTLA their story.
On March 29, 2011, Dr. Shannon was driving along Pacific Coast Highway in California when a semi-truck T-boned his SUV, pinning his vehicle underneath the truck. The truck caught fire first, igniting Shannon’s SUV. The fire licked at Shannon’s legs as first responders worked to rescue him with the Jaws of Life.
The wreck of Dr. Shannon's SUV (Photo via KTLA)
One of the paramedics on the scene was Trokey, the tiny baby boy that Dr. Shannon had rescued 30 years ago.
“I didn’t know about until I went to the hospital and started talking about it, Dr. Shannon. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Dr. Shannon?’” Trokey told KTLA. “That’s when I found out.”
The doctor’s injuries were so extensive that he spent the next 45 days recovering in the hospital. He lost two toes.
As a pediatrician, Shannon sees the babies he cares for grow up all the time. He is now Trokey’s son’s pediatrician.
He told KTLA: “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.”