A man in Ghana has been hospitalized after he reportedly dismembered himself while sleepwalking.
The man, named as 42-year-old Kofi Atta, said he’d been dreaming about “slaughtering a goat” when he awoke to “sharp pains” in his scrotum. When he looked down, he realized that his dream had led him to chop off his genitalia.
Atta is quoted as telling BBC “I no remember how I carry de knife, even me I dey confused”.
Atta was taken to hospital in a diaper and his injuries, while critical, are not thought to be life-threatening.
He is currently raising funds to receive surgery to reattach his genitals.
According to researchers, up to 4 percent of adults are thought to experience sleepwalking, and episodes can last anywhere from a few seconds to half an hour.
And despite its name, “sleepwalking is not limited to walking.” Other types of actions which can occur include running, getting dressed or undressed, moving furniture, urinating in inappropriate places or even engaging in intimate actions.
Research has also found that 58 percent of sleepwalkers have experienced “violent” behavior during an episode, “including 17 percent who experienced at least one episode involving injuries to the sleepwalker or bed partner that required medical care.”
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