From rescuer to rescued: Doctor and paramedic save each other's lives 30 years apart

Reunited: Paediatrician Michael Shannon meets paramedic Chris Trokey. Photo: KTLA

When Dr Michael Shannon saved the life of a premature baby 30 years ago, he would never have thought decades later, the favour would be returned.

Thirty years ago Dr Shannon worked around the clock to stabilise a premature baby, Chris Trokey (pictured), now a paramedic with Orange County. Photo: KLTV

KTLA reported on Sunday the incredible story of two men in California who saved each other's lives in two very different ways. 

The news station said that Dr Michael Shannon, a paediatrician, found himself pinned inside a burning vehicle after a car accident in 2011.  One of the rescue workers who had helped to free the seriously injured Dr Shannon from the car was Chris Trokey, a young Orange County Fire Authority paramedic. 

When Mr Trokey visited the hospital where Dr Shannon spent 45 days recovering from internal injuries, he realised that the man he had helped save was the man who had given him the gift of life 30 years earlier. 

After seeing Mr Trokey once again at a recent cancer fundraiser, Dr Shannon 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."  

Car crash victim: Paediatrician Michael Shannon was rescued by Chris Trokey. Photo: KTLA

Mr Trokey is now father to a son, and you guessed it - Dr Shannon is the boy's paediatrician.