A 23-year-old nurse from Tampa Bay, Florida, was paralyzed after developing a disease that was probably stimulated as a result of the new coronavirus, according to a local report.
In July, Desmon Silva suddenly stopped breathing and was rushed to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor. Silva was paralyzed from the neck down and was placed on a fan. He was later transferred to Mass General in Boston, where he could be better treated, according to a GoFundMe on his behalf.
Silva has many months of recovery ahead of him, but his family says the 23-year-old “remains full of life”, according to GoFundMe.
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Silva was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a condition that is often “characterized by a brief but generalized attack of inflammation in the brain and spinal cord that damages myelin – the protective covering of nerve fibers,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). ADEM usually occurs as a result of viral or bacterial infections, and ADEM symptoms usually “appear quickly,” according to NINDS.
Two months before developing ADEM, Silva tested positive for COVID-19, but recovered, according to local news station Bay News 9.
“It’s been difficult. You are a little helpless, in a way,” Silva’s father, José Silva, told the news station. “Seeing him smiling and playing really gives us the strength to move forward with his recovery.”
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On Monday, after months in the hospital, Silva returned home to Florida on a free flight on Jet ICU, an air ambulance service located in Tampa.
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Silva has many months of recovery ahead of him, but his family says the 23-year-old “remains full of life”, according to GoFundMe.
“We focus on one day at a time, but I would be lying to you if I said that we are not thinking about the future,” Silva’s mother, Barbara Bonnett, told the local WTVT news station. “He firmly believes that things are going to happen in his favor.”