Man's chilling experience of being 'trapped inside a body' is taking the world by storm

People who often complain about simple life problems haven't actually experienced hardship unless they have faced a serious illness. There's nothing more important than good health and one man realized this when he was trapped inside his body for over a decade. In 1988, Martin Pistorius, a 12-year-old boy from South Africa, was as fit as a fiddle when his life unexpectedly became an uphill battle. What began as a sore throat soon amplified into a serious unknown ailment that robbed his ability to walk, eat and even communicate, according to NBC News. In 2015, Pistorius recalled what he experienced trapped in a lifeless body and it's unthinkable. 

Unable to diagnose his "mysterious" illness, doctors gave up on Pistorius' treatment and asked his parents to take him home to die. He had the intelligence of a three-year-old and had to be completely in the care of his parents or daycare centers. While the boy was believed to be mentally unconscious of his surroundings, he told the media channel in 2015 that his mind began to "wake up" around four years after he first went ill. "For so many years, I was like a ghost. I could hear and see everything, but it was like I wasn’t there. I was invisible," he said. As he gained consciousness, he felt powerless being dependent on others, his thoughts were his only company. 

"I would literally live in my imagination," Pistorius said. "Sometimes to such an extent that I became almost oblivious to my surroundings," he added. In fact, he once heard his mother telling him, "I hope you die," and though she said it as "some sort of a relief," it broke the man's heart. "As time passed, I gradually learned to understand my mother's desperation. Every time she looked at me, she could see only a cruel parody of the once-healthy child she had loved so much," a 39-year-old Pistorius, who now lives in Harlow, England, told NPR. He had to spend his time in daycare centers watching reruns of the popular children's show "Barney & Friends." "I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney," he said. 

After nearly a decade of being alone with his thoughts and observing the movements of sunlight and insects, Pistorius found a ray of hope when his daycare center therapist, Virna Van Der Walt, identified that he was aware of his surroundings. "He had a sparkle in his eye, I could see he was understanding me," Van Der Walt told NBC. The man was forever grateful for the therapist as her detection made his parents look for better cognitive therapy, which ultimately improved his communication. His body grew stronger too and Pistorius was introduced to a special communication equipment that altered his life. 

Now, Pistorius works as a web designer and is married to the love of his life, Joanna, who he met through his sister. The couple welcomed their son, Sebastian, in 2018. In his autobiography "Ghost Boy," Pistorius gets into the details of his time being trapped in his own body. Sharing what he learned from his life journey, the man told the media channel, "Never underestimate the power of the mind, the importance of love and faith, and never stop dreaming." He added, "Treat everyone with kindness, dignity, compassion and respect, irrespective of whether you think they understand or not."