LARGO, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida nurse has been left paralyzed from the neck down after he contracted a deadly illness shortly after beating COVID-19.
According to Fox 13, 23-year-old Desmon Silva has been recovering in a Massachusetts hospital with his mother by his side.
In July, Silva was out to dinner with his girlfriend when he started suffering neck pains. Minutes later, he lost feeling in his hands and was rushed to the hospital.
By the time he made it to the hospital, he was unresponsive, placed on a ventilator and was admitted to the intensive care unit.
Doctors ultimately determined Silva was paralyzed from the neck down.
Silva’s mother, Barbara Bonnett, told Fox 13 her son tested positive for COVID-19 about two months before he was rushed to the hospital, but said his case was mild and he recovered.
However, the virus weakened his immune system, and he developed an infection called Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis or ADEM, an illness that attacks the central nervous system.
Now, doctors are working to study Silva’s case and are trying to find out why he became paralyzed.
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