Man who was 'locked in his body' reveals heartbreaking conversation he witnessed his wife have with doctors

A man who had locked-in syndrome recalled the heartbreaking conversations he heard his wife having with the doctors while he was in hospital.

In 2009, Richard Marsh suffered a life-changing stroke and developed locked-in syndrome shortly after.

Locked-in syndrome (LiS) is described as 'a rare and serious neurological disorder that happens when a part of your brainstem is damaged, usually from a stroke', as per the Cleveland Clinic.

Those with LiS are totally paralyzed but still have normal cognitive abilities.

With this in mind, Richard could hear everything his wife was being told by medical professionals when he fell unwell.

According to them, Richard - who is thought to have been in his late 50s at the time - only had a two percent chance of survival and they suggested turning his life support machine off.

Recalling the moment he woke up in intensive care, Richard told The Guardian: "All I could do when I woke up in ICU was blink my eyes.

"I was on life support with a breathing machine, with tubes and wires on every part of my body, and a breathing tube down my throat. I was in a severe locked in-state for some time. Things looked pretty dire."

Discussing the harrowing conversation between his wife, Lili, and his doctors, Richard went on: "The doctors had just finished telling Lili that I had a two percent chance of survival and if I should survive I would be a vegetable.

"I could hear the conversation and in my mind I was screaming 'No!'"

Fortunately a doctor went on to discover that he was able to communicate through blinking and the plans to turn off his machine were scrapped.

Three days after his devastating stroke, a doctor peered down at Richard and said: "You know, I think he might still be there. Let's see."

Fast forward another four months and Richard completely defied the odds and walked out of his long-term care facility.

By 2012, he recovered 95 percent functionality and was largely living a completely normal life again.

While Richard was one of the lucky ones, not everyone who develops locked-in syndrome regain their physical functionality.

This hasn't stopped Howard Wicks, however.

Howard is a 29-year-old from Dartmouth, UK, and he suffered a stroke in 2011. The incident left him totally paralyzed and he's only able to move his eyes.

Despite his debilitating condition, Howard has recently penned a book using an eye-driven communication device. The book is 50,000 pages long and it took Howard 18 months to complete.

The novel, titled Hope: Facing the Depths of Adversity: A Life with Locked-In Syndrome, recounts the first four years of his life after suffering a stroke.