It may seem like the worst nightmare imaginable to be stuck inside your own body, unable to move or speak, and with no one, not even yourself, aware that you are still there. Unfortunately, for some people, such horrifying tales are their reality.

A 12-year-old South African kid named Martin Pistorius suffered from an unexplained neurological condition. His ability to move and speak was quickly taken away from him. At least everyone believed that he had just fallen into an odd coma.

Although it appeared that he had no awareness of his surroundings, this was not at all the case. He discovered his situation a few years after he was bedridden, but he was unable to move or speak, thus there was nothing he could do. Years passed before medical professionals realised he was stuck inside his own body somewhere.

“My awareness was something that happened gradually, so it wasn’t like one moment I was asleep and the next moment I was awake,” he told All in the Mind. “As my awareness returned, it took me a while to fully comprehend that I was trapped inside my body,” Martin shared after he finally got his life back, although never to the fullest.

What it must be like to go through something as terrifying as what Martin did is beyond our comprehension. Martin can now walk, but he has never been able to speak again. Rather, a computer-assisted communication system facilitates his speaking.

He owns and operates his own business from his home in Essex, UK, and is married. Martin wrote Ghost Boy: My Escape from a Life Locked Inside My Own Body, a best-selling book released by Simon & Schuster, putting his life experiences on paper. Over 10 million people have viewed his interview with NBC News.