A 21-year-old Brazilian man was stunned after finding a bullet lodged in his head after thinking he was hit by a stone during a New Year's Eve party. According to the New York Post, Mateus Facio was partying at a beach in Rio de Janeiro when he felt an object hit him, but he shrugged it when his head stopped bleeding. For the next four days, Mr Facio continued partying with friends without the faintest idea of the severity of his situation.
"Little did I know that all this would happen," the 21-year-old recalled, as per the Post. "I thought it was a stone, a bad joke, that someone picked up and threw a rock," he said. "If there was a noise, I could imagine what it could be. But I didn't hear anything, it was completely normal," the Brazilian, who studies medicine in school, added.
The 21-year-old partied on the beach and hung out with friends for four days before realising that he had a bullet lodged in his brain. It was only when he returned home that he sought medical attention. On his journey back home, Mr Facio said that his arms and fingers had stopped moving normally, causing him to repeatedly stop driving.
"I went to take a nap and woke up with my arm feeling a little silly," Mr Facio said. "I felt my fingers moving, but I didn't have the confidence to pick something up," he added.
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The 21-year-old ended up going to the hospital for tests - four days after he was shot - where he was stunned to learn he had a 9mm bullet lodged in his head. "The bullet was compressing the brain in an area close to the region responsible for the movement of the right arm, causing irritation," the doctor explained, describing the man's symptoms.
"This led to the brain to respond with movements that manifested as convulsive episodes," he added. According to the outlet, the doctor said that the patient was extremely lucky that he didn't sustain "more serious damage" such as paralysis of his arm or even his whole body.
Mr Facio subsequently underwent a two-hour operation to remove the bullet, during which he ran the risk of "bleeding, leakage of cerebral fluid, meningitis, and even death". Thankfully, doctors successfully extracted the bullet without causing any damage. They even sent the bullet to the cops in Cabo Frio, who are currently investigating the case. They say there were no reports of shootings in the area on that day.
