A California paramedic rescued the same doctor who saved his own life 30 years earlier.
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This Act of Male Goodness is actually two acts of goodness — 30 years apart.
Fortunately, paramedics were nearby and responded quickly. But Dr. Shannon’s legs were on fire.
After being pried out of the vehicle, Dr. Shannon was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed for 45 days recovering from internal injuries and surgery to amputate two of his toes.
One of the paramedics who saved Dr. Shannon was Chris Trokey, whose own life had been saved 30 years earlier by a pediatrician. A pediatrician named Dr. Michael Shannon. The same Dr. Michael Shannon he had just rescued from beneath the burning truck.
“I didn’t know about it until I went to the hospital and started talking about it, Dr. Shannon. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Dr. Shannon?’” Trokey said.
Weighing just 3.2 pounds when he was born, Trokey was given a 50-50 chance of surviving that first day of life. But his pediatrician wasn’t willing to give up on him. Dr. Shannon stayed with him “around the clock until his health improved, and he was stable.”
The two were reunited at a recent fundraiser for children’s cancer where both shaved their heads in solidarity with young patients and to raise money for St. Baldrick’s charity.
“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,” Dr. Shannon said.
“It’s a great feeling, and now he’s my son’s pediatrician,” Trokey said.
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Do you have an Act of Male Goodness to share? Or know someone who should be profiled in this series? Email Kristi Dale ([email protected]) with ‘100 Acts of Male Goodness’ in the subject line.
Photo: KTLA.com
