After testing positive for the coronavirus just a couple of months ago, Desmon Silva apparently made a full recovery.
But on July 16, he stopped breathing.
Doctors rushed to put Silva on a respirator and on Saturday night, they took him to Massachusetts General Hospital from Tampa, Florida, in a private intensive care jet. hoping to treat a rare infection that left him paralyzed from the neck down, Boston25 News reported.
“Basically they said it is related to COVID because it is triggered by a viral infection,” Barbara Bonnet, the mother of Silva, a Massachusetts resident, told the station. “What happened is that it remained inactive in my son’s system, still testing negative, without any symptoms, but it was still there.”
Hoping to ease the financial burden of her treatments and the extensive rehabilitation bills she may face in the future, Brooke Griffin organized a GoFundMe page for Silva.
PLEASE GO VIRAL: I am raising money to: Help us help Desmon Silva. Click to donate: https://t.co/5nnYTLk7DN via @gofundme
– Griffi9️⃣5️⃣ ™ (@griffin_brooke) July 21, 2020
Nearly 2,500 people from across the country had donated to the campaign on Sunday afternoon, earning $ 108,449 of your goal of $ 200,000.
“Desmon has always been a lover, but now also a fighter,” Griffin wrote in the fundraising description. “Despite his condition, Desmon is still alive.”
Silva, a 22-year-old nurse, had been working to save lives on the front lines in Florida until she began fighting for her own.
Desmon’s smile could light up the airway. Their laughter could cause waves to spread across the world’s oceans. His zest for life could move mountains, “Griffin wrote.” He will fight the fight to get back, but he has a long way to go. “
Bonnet told 25 News that Boston doctors tentatively diagnosed her son with transverse myelitis – an inflammation of both sides of the spinal cord, but he hopes that he will fully recover soon.
“Desmon needs to breathe again and walk alone, in order to continue helping and healing people, living the great and small moments of his young life, catching sunsets, seeking adventures, celebrating his achievements and growing old. with the ones he loves, “Griffin wrote in his post. “Des, we all support you.”
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