BOSTON (CBS) – A nurse who was battling coronavirus on the frontline was flown to Boston this weekend after he was paralyzed due to a coronavirus-related infection. Desmon Silva, 22, was taken from Florida to the ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital by a special medical jet.
Her mother, Barbara Bonnet, lives in Massachusetts. She said her son contracted the virus a few months ago and seemed to be fully recovering.
Devastating is an understatement. Without mom, without dad, no one should have to go through the pain we’ve been through so far, “Bonnet said.
Desmon Silva (Photo credit: Brooke Griffin)
Silva had been working as a nurse at Largo Medical Center in Orlando. According to Bonnet, he is being treated for a rare spinal infection that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He has been in the hospital for a week and was flown to Boston on Saturday night for treatment.
“Absolutely fighting for his life,” said Bonnet. “It was triggered through a viral infection and tested positive for COVID a couple of months ago.”
She said that her son became a nurse just a year ago and was very excited to help those in need. You are now on the other side of the front line.
“I want to say that COVID is real. It’s the unknown and be serious about the signs and symptoms. “
Silva’s mother, father, and stepmother are nurses. The family firmly believes that he will make a full recovery, and this life-altering setback won’t deter him a bit from doing what he was born to do.
“He followed in our footsteps and we are very proud of him,” Bonnet said.
Silva’s girlfriend in Tampa, Brooke Griffin, created a GoFundMe page for him.
“We started that because we know that his care will be extensive and that his rehabilitation will probably be at least a year, which means he may not be able to work,” he told WBZ.
Griffin said Silva has an upcoming birthday and that not being able to be with him is “tearing me apart.”
“It is very difficult, especially at this age. Desmon was fair, we were starting our lives. He had just gotten his dream job. He loved his job. She loved being a nurse and helping people, just like the rest of her family. “
“The outpouring is super humiliating. You know, especially in these tough times with COVID and the people who lose their jobs. “Bonnet said.
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