Imagine being awake while having major surgery, without the doctors even knowing.

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, it happens to roughly one to two people for every 1,000 surgeries. And what's more, 30 percent of those patients feel every move the doctor makes.

This shocking reality was brought to life by the newly released psychological thriller "Awake." The movie centers on a man who awakens during heart surgery, only to find he is paralyzed and can't signal the doctors in the operating room.

The terrifying scene from the movie turned into a real-life experience for Carol Weihrer of Reston Virginia. It's a phenomenon called Anesthesia Awareness. It's where a patient does not get enough general anesthesia and is left conscious during surgery, but they're paralyzed, preventing them from speaking.

It's been 10 years but Weihrer said she recalls the event as if it were yesterday. "I could not move, I was screaming out at the top of my lungs. Nothing was coming out. I heard them say cut deeper, pull harder, you really have to work to get an eye out," said Weihrer.

Weihrer is now founder of the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign Inc. She said the campaign is a touchstone for people who have experienced awareness. It also hopes to change the way in which the anesthesia community practices medicine and alert the public that this could happen to them.

Most importantly, Weihrer wants to make sure brain-activity monitors are used in every operating room across the country. The monitor's job is to convert signals to a number between zero and 100, 100 meaning the patient is fully conscious. This will allow the anesthesiologist to know the patient is not feeling anything during surgery.

Dr. Jorge Roig, a local anesthesiologist, said brain monitors aside, there are three drugs used in the anesthetic process. First and IV medication is given to put the patient to sleep. A pain-killer is also given and a muscle relaxer or paralytic that prevents the patient from moving.

Roing said, with awareness, the part that keeps the patient asleep is not working properly and the muscle-relaxer will not allow the patient to move. If the patient can't move they can't let the surgical team know they are experiencing the pain. In a case like this, he agreed, brain monitors would signal to the doctors that the patient is awake.

"I think if you have an anesthesiologist who is board certified, who knows exactly what's going on with the case, and communicates well with the surgeon and nurses involved, that's probably more important than just a brain monitor," said Roig.

Weihrer and Dr. Jorge Roig both agree communication before the surgery is important. It's at that point that patients can express any concerns to make sure they are at ease when it comes time to go under the knife.