In 1996 on New Years Day, Damon Walker (then 18-years-old) from Baltimore,US was lying on the ground after being shot.

Praying that someone would come and help him, he got his victory when medical student Michael Franks got lost and took a wrong turn whilst driving his car.

Speaking about the moment he was on the ground, Damon said: “I constantly think about that moment of being in the gutter and not having any hope to live, you know, knowing that death was imminent. I said a simple prayer that it would be nice if somebody came to pick me up.”

Discovering Damon, who was paralysed on the ground, Michael came out of his car and immediately attended to him.

The then University of Maryland medical student decided that it would be best to put Damon in his car and drive to the nearby R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

Now 25 years later, the two reunited for the first time since the incident after Damon and his mother searched for him. Dr Michael Franks, 52, who is now a surgeon didn’t even know if Damon had survived.

After the attack, Damon adjusted to life in a wheelchair and focused on learning and reading. He became peer councillor and is now a violence prevention specialist at a hospital.

Giving back to his community, Damon said: “I wanted to let him [Dr Franks] know that what he did not only helped save me but helped save my community. I know I wouldn’t have been able to give back (to my community) if it wasn’t for him helping me that day.”