Chris Trokey was only 3.2 pounds when he was born in 1986. His Southern California hospital’s medical staff estimated that his chances of long-term life were 50/50. That simply wasn’t adequate for one of those doctors. The pediatrician had no way of knowing that his tireless efforts to rescue Trokey’s life were an investment in his own long-term survival.
Chris Trokey, who later trained as a paramedic, rescued Dr. Michael Shannon from a flaming car after a serious accident almost thirty years ago to the day that Chris Trokey had been saved by Shannon.
Shannon had been a pediatrician for about ten years at the time Trokey was born. He spent a lot of his childhood visiting doctors since he had illnesses like asthma, a hernia, and appendicitis, which led him to become a doctor and start his business in 1973.
“I spent a lot of time in the doctor’s office. I figured that would be a decent thing to do because my parents appeared to enjoy him,” he recounted in a retirement interview with the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He jokingly said that he went into pediatrics because “kids don’t judge you and their charts were incredibly tiny.”
Shannon was hit head-on by a semitruck on March 29, 2011, when he was traveling down the Pacific Coast Highway close to Dana Point in Southern California. Shannon’s car was stuck below the large truck and rapidly caught fire. Shannon could only make out a flash of white and the sound of breaking glass.
Firefighters and paramedics from Orange County’s Engine 29 arrived on the scene in under two minutes. They came across a flaming, damaged wreck. Although the fire wasn’t out of control, firefighters were aware that the car may explode at any moment.
Shannon was trapped inside the car as the fire started to burn his legs, but he was unable to flee the accident. Shannon was unable to free himself despite being aware of his severe injuries. He maintained his composure as the temperature inside the SUV rose and informed the rescue team of his location.
Chris Trokey, a paramedic with the Orange County Fire Authority, was present that day. Trokey, who had been an EMT for eight years at that point, was nearing the conclusion of his shift. Despite having worked all night, the Engine 29 crew was fortunate to be in the truck and prepared to respond when the call came in.
Shannon saw that the soles of his shoes were fusing with his skin while the fire truck team battled the car fire. He signaled the team that he needed the hose while they used the Jaws of Life to release him. They delivered it to him, and the doctor extinguished the car’s flames after receiving it. They were still putting out the engine fire outside the vehicle. Twenty minutes later, they rescued Shannon and sent him to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, which is close by.
Trokey called the hospital in advance to alert the trauma team at the emergency department. He reported the patient’s name, and something in his recollection was triggered. He questioned whether the physician who had stayed up with him throughout his early days on earth to ensure he lived for the next 30 years was the same one in the SUV.
The future paramedic was born 10 weeks early in June 1981. Baby Chris weighed 3.2 pounds and was small enough to fit in Shannon’s palm. He and his mother had to be transported 25 miles away, from Mission Hospital to the medical center at the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of California Irvine.
The Trokeys were eventually allowed to leave the hospital, but their medical issues lingered on for quite some time. Chris the baby developed an unusual fever just a few weeks after birth and was taken back to the hospital. Dr. Shannon remained with the infant until all was well. Trokey’s pediatrician up till the time he was a teenager was Shannon.
Chris Trokey started to remember the man in the back of the ambulance more clearly as he cared for Shannon while the ambulance sped to the hospital.
Shannon suffered a ruptured gut, foot burns of the second and third degree, and glass fragments lodged all over his body. Two of his toes had to be removed, and it took him 45 days to heal from his wounds. The day following the life-saving procedure, the men of Engine 29 went to the doctor.
On the anniversary of the vehicle accident, when a paramedic returned the favor for the doctor who saved his life, Trokey and Shannon now get together once a year. Porter Trokey, Trokey’s son, was born in 2015, and Shannon cared for him for two years before leaving the profession in 2017.
A little girl survived a 1-hour submersion in freezing creek water
On June 10, 1986, two-and-a-half-year-old Michelle Funk fell into an icy creek and was submerged for 66 minutes. When rescuers pulled her out of the water, she was not breathing, had no pulse, and appeared lifeless. The doctors used various techniques to rewarm her blood and bring her back to life. She was successfully resuscitated and went on to lead a healthy life.
Australian man dies, comes back to life, and wins the lottery twice
Bill Morgan, an Australian, is a man who has beat the odds. He escaped death by surviving a horrific automobile accident and heart attack before collapsing into a coma and going on to win the lotto twice. He went from losing virtually everything to winning far more than he could have imagined.
Man uses first-class ticket to eat for free at airport's VIP lounge for almost a year
A Chinese man purchased a First Class Ticket, which included admission to a VIP Lounge with free food. Over the course of a year, he rescheduled over 300 times in order to receive over 300 free dinners. When questioned, it was discovered that he is rescheduling his reservation to another date after eating. He eventually cancelled the ticket and got a full refund.
Max Headroom Incident: America’s Creepiest TV Hack
In 1987 a man hijacked a television station during an episode of Dr. Who and wore a Max Headroom mask and uttered nonsense, and he still hasn’t been caught
Neerja Bhanot, the braveheart flight attendant was never run away from a crisis
Neeja Bhanot, a 22 year old Indian flight attendant who helped hides 41 American passports aboard a hijacked plane. She died shielding three children from gunfire and was posthumously awarded bravery medals from India, Pakistan, and the United States.
Oreo builds asteroid-proof bunker to protect its cookies and recipes
In October 2020, Oreo builds a concrete bunker in Svalbard, Norway, to protect their recipes in case of an asteroid impact. The vault also contains Oreos wrapped in Mylar and vials of milk powder.
Inspiring story of Emma Schols who Saved Her Six Kids From A Burning House
Emma Schols, a Swedish mother, saved all six of her children from a devastating house fire in 2019, running from room to room through flames while bleeding and losing skin. Against all odds, she survived with severe burns covering 90% of her body.
Estonians save a wolf from the ice by mistaking it for a dog
Two young construction workers in Estonia discovered what they thought was a dog caught in a frozen lake. They carried it to their car and brought him to an animal shelter, not realizing it was a wolf.
Frank Lentini, The Three-Legged Sideshow Performer
Francesco Lentini was a man with three legs, four feet, sixteen toes, and two sets of functional male genitals. He worked for the circus and lived to be 78 years old.
Smart guy brings life-sized cutout of his late mother to his graduation
Even though that his mother passed away in 2016, a young man had a clever idea to make a life-size cutout of her and bring it to the event so that she could attend his graduation ceremony.
Hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar turning phasing out their local money in 2015
Hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar made it one of the lowest valued currencies in the world. So the country abandoned it in 2009, and switched to using foreign money. In 2015, to complete the process of phasing out their local money, the government offered to exchange it at a rate of one US dollar for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.
Mystery of 300-year-old mummified mermaid is being probed
There is a 300-year-old mummified mermaid with 30 centimetres tall and features a human-like head, two hands with what appear to be fingernails, and its lower body that look like a fish tail. The “mermaid mummy” is being probed by Japanese scientists in an attempt to unravel the mystery of its existence.
The incredible story of a plane that lost its roof in mid-flight and the light signal that saved 94 lives.
On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243 was on the way to Honolulu from Hilo when a huge portion of the upper part of the fuselage blew off the airplane.
Leo Grand: from homeless to mobile app developer
In 2013, A young programmer offered a homeless man the choice between $100 cash or coding lessons. Leo Grand chose the lessons, and his first mobile app was “Trees for Cars," which helps drivers find carpooling partners.
Passenger with No Flying Experience Lands Plane in Florida: A Real-Life Aviation Miracle
A passenger with no flying experience landed a twin-engine plane in Florida after the pilot died mid-flight. With guidance from air traffic control, he safely touched down—a real-life aviation miracle caught on radar and radio.
A woman who had been lost since she was a newborn 51 years ago was said to have been spotted
A woman who had been lost since she was a newborn for 51 years was reported to have been sighted.
Self-taught William Kamkwamba built a windmill for his town
A Malawian teenager who taught himself how to build a windmill out of junk and bring power to his village. He then went on to build a second, larger windmill to power irrigation pumps. He did this all from books he read in the library.
Restaurant owner offers burglar a job rather than filing charges
On April 13, 2021, Diablo’s Southwest Grill was robbed, but instead of pressing charges, owner Carl Wallace decided to offer the burglar a job in his business and said “There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen,”.
Smart girl saves her family more than 100 people in 2004 tsunami
In 2004, a 10-year-old girl saved her family and 100 other tourists from the Asian tsunami because she had learned about the giant waves in a geography lesson, it has emerged.
A story of a man Survived Inside Sunken Ship For Three Days
A man survived a sunken ship for nearly three days, 279 feet underwater and in complete darkness, while listening to fish eat the bodies of his shipmates.
A man who was saved from committing suicide 16 years ago now assists people dealing with mental health issues
Kevin Berthia traveled to the Golden Gate Bridge in 2005 to commit suicide. He ended up spending 92 minutes on the edge of the bridge talking to officer Kevin Briggs about his life. In much better circumstances, they cross paths at the same bridge ten years later.
A man joins a search operation without realizing he is the missing person
Beyhan Mutlu, a Turkish national, was reported missing by local media and unintentionally joined search teams looking for himself in a forest. He was drunk and lost in the woods when he ended up in a group with others looking for himself.
New York installs first offshore wind turbine to power 70,000 homes
New York State has achieved a historic milestone in its clean energy transition by installing the first wind turbine at its first offshore wind farm, South Fork Win.
A man who has been suffering from headaches for nearly six months discovers chopsticks lodged in his brain
When it was discovered that a Vietnamese man with headaches and vision problems had chopsticks lodged in his brain, the doctors were almost as surprised as the man himself.
Croatian teenager wakes up from coma speaking fluent in German In 2010
In 2010, a Croatian teenager awoke from a coma to discover she could no longer speak Croatian but was fluent in German, a language she had just recently begun studying at school in the United Kingdom. reports in the press
