In 2007, a 33-year-old man named Carlos Camejo from Venezuela faced an extraordinary situation when he regained consciousness amidst excruciating pain during an autopsy procedure performed by a medical examiner.

Carlos had been involved in a severe car accident near Caracas and was subsequently taken to the morgue, presumed to be deceased. However, while the medical examiners began their examination by making an incision on his face, they soon discovered something peculiar: Carlos, the supposedly “dead” man, was bleeding. Realizing their grave error, they promptly sutured the incision.

Carlos later recounted, “I regained consciousness because the pain was unbearable.”

Shortly thereafter, his wife arrived at the morgue to identify her husband’s body, only to be astonished by the absence of his lifeless form. Instead, she encountered a very much alive Carlos in one of the corridors.

Eventually, Carlos Camejo managed to recuperate from the incident and presented his autopsy report and the scar on his face to a local newspaper called El Universal.

Experiencing intense agony in a morgue is undoubtedly a harrowing way to regain consciousness, but it unquestionably surpasses the alternative—never waking up at all.