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.
stranded hikers rescued by a life-saving iPhone feature
Stranded hikers were rescued by a life-saving iPhone feature that an awful lot of folks don't know a lot about.
The accidentally discovery of Riace bronzes
Stefano Mariottini was snorkeling off the coast of Monasterace near Riace in 1972 when he noticed a human hand sticking out of the sand and called the police, thinking it was a corpse. It was actually two statues of "Warriors from Riace" - 5th century BC Greek bronze statues.
The Man Who Survived Falling Through a Thunderstorm, William Rankin
William Rankin was a fighter pilot who survived an ejection into a thunderstorm. He suffered frostbite, violent wind and lightning, severe decompression, and nearly drowned from breathing in rain water. He was in the cloud for over 40 minutes in total.
Aitzaz Hasan, Pakistani school boy who sacrificed his life from suicide bomber
Aitzaz Hasan, a 15 year old Pakistani school boy, sacrificed his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering his school of 2000 students. His father said "My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children."
24-year-old burglar beaten by retired boxer victim
A 24-year-old knife-wielding burglar attempted to get into the home of a 72-year-old senior in Oxford, England, in 2009, but was left battered, bruised, and pinned to the ground. Frank Corti, the elderly, turned out to be a former boxing champion.
Photos: This man sold everything 45 years ago to buy a bike and travel 6,000 miles from India to Sweden to see his love.
An Indian man traveled from India to Sweden on a bicycle to meet his Swedish wife in 1978. The journey took him 4 months and through eight countries.
The world’s longest flight spent more than two months in the air
Roberts Timm and Jim Cook, two pilots, flew an aircraft for more than two months without landing in 1958. Matching the speed of a truck moving down the road to refuel. A mattress for sleeping, a small steel sink for personal hygiene, the removal of most interior fittings to reduce weight, and a basic autopilot were among the improvements.
Woman had no idea she had an identical twin until she saw a 'lookalike' on YouTube
When Anais Bordier saw a YouTube video of Samantha Futerman, who looked exactly like her, she messaged her on Facebook and discovered they were both adopted and born on the same day. They were identical twins who had been separated at birth and had found each other by chance and on social media.
A Pilot Survived 20 Minutes Outside A Flying Jet
In 1990, the captain of flight 5390 Timothy Lancaster got sucked out of his own plane when the window of the plane fell off. The crew held the captain’s leg for 30 minutes while the plane performed emergency landing. Everyone survived.
People are freaked out because they keep finding 'help me' messages under the cap of Sobe bottles
With their bottle caps that said, "Help me, I'm trapped in SoBe factory," SoBe Beverage discovered the hard way that forced labor is serious business. This is an example of when humor can be overdone.
Lafayette pizza delivery driver who saved 5 from burning house
Nicholas Bostic a 25-year-old pizza delivery man from Lafayette, Indiana, ran into a burning house to rescue four children, who told him there is one more inside. He ran back inside, he found the six-year-old girl, jumped out of a window, carried her to a cop who captured the moment on his bodycam.
The actions of a 7-year-old girl protected her mother from bullets
A 7-year-old girl jumped in front of her mother to save her from a man who was attempting to kill her in 2007. She was shot six times and survived, as well as saving her mother.
Kipekee, the world's only spotless giraffe, was born at Brights Zoo
The world's only spotless giraffe was born at a zoo in the United States. The giraffe born without spots on July 31 is the only one of her kind on Earth.
Water park in japan, ocean dome: Largest indoor water park in the world
The Seagaia Ocean Dome, located in Miyazaki, Japan, was the biggest indoor waterpark in the world. An "Ocean" six times the size of an Olympic pool, filled with 13,500 tons of unsalted, chlorinated water kept heated at 28 degrees Celsius and recognized as the largest simulated pool by the Guinness Book of World Records, measures 12,000 square meters of the sandy beach made from 600 tons of stone.
Baby Lynlee 'born twice' after life-saving tumour surgery
Baby Lynlee was "born twice." First, surgeons brought her out of the womb to remove a spinal tumor. After the successful surgery, she was placed back and born again as a healthy baby girl.
Whang-od Oggay, The legendary tattoo artist from the Philippines
This is Whang-od Oggay, a 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines. She is often described as the last and oldest Kalinga tattoo artist, and has been performing the traditional art of hand-tapped tattoos since the age of 15
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.
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.
Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies
Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.
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.
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.
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.
The Crystal Maiden of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave
Located in Belize, there is a cave where the remnants of ancient Maya human sacrifices can be witnessed. However, reaching the back of the cave system requires swimming, wading through a cave river, and crawling through narrow, uneven rocky passages in darkness. Once there, visitors can walk among the numerous corpses of sacrifice victims, including The Crystal Maiden, an 18-year-old whose skeleton has become calcified to the point of sparkling.
Billy Ray Harris: A Story of Kindness and Honesty
In 2013, a homeless man named Billy Ray Harris discovered a $4,000 engagement ring in this cup. A woman had dropped while giving him some change. He returned the ring to her two days later. To thank him for his honesty, she set up a fund with the goal of raising $4,000 for him. It earned more than $185,000.
Man Trapped in the Sahara Desert Constructs a Bike From His Broken-Down Car to Save His Life
A man who became lost in the desert disassembled his broken-down car and turned it into a functional motorcycle, which he used to escape.
