Man partied for four days while unaware he had been shot in the head

A man partied for four days while unaware that he had been shot in the head on New Year's Eve.

University student, Mateus Facio from Brazil required an emergency operation to remove a bullet fragment from his brain after he initially visited the hospital for unexplained arm spasms.

The 21-year-old was shot on December 31 but initially thought he had been hit on the head with a stone.

Completely oblivious to his injury, Mateus carried on with life as normal as he swam in the sea, partied with his mates, and visited the beach - all while the bullet remained lodged in there.

He even travelled on a 200-mile journey from Rio de Janeiro to Juiz de Fora but noted something was up as the drive took double the time because of his arm spasms.

With that, Mateus decided to get checked out at the hospital five days later on January 4 where medics made the surprising discovery.

Neurosurgeon Flavio Falcometa explained why Mateus would have been getting arm spasms from the gunshot.

‘Part of the bullet penetrated his brain which caused compression in that area and led to his arm’s involuntary movements," he explained.

"If it had ended up a few millimetres from where it did, it could have caused much more serious damage and left his arm or one side of his body paralysed."

He added: "It was very risky for the patient but we believe that in 20 to 30 days he will be able to continue with his normal life."

An investigation has since been launched into finding the person responsible for shooting Mateus and police will analyse the bullet that was removed from his head.

In an interview with Brazilian TV show Jornal Nacional, Mateus shared the incredible story following his recovery.

He recalled how he thought he was hit in the head with a stone while on a beach with friends, detailed the sensation he felt when he was shot and described his head bleeding in the shower as he was getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"I thought it was a stone, something like that. It was like the sound of an explosion when a bomb goes off, but inside my head," Mateus said.

"The bleeding stopped, we left, I took a shower and went out partying."

Mateus's mother understandably can't quite believe what happened to her son.

"It’s inexplicable how someone can have a bullet lodged in their head for four days and survive," she said. I feel like my son has been born again."

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.