Covid-stricken Largo nurse returns home via air ambulance
March 1, 2021 - Desmon Silva has returned home after beating encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, a coronavirus-related infection that attacks the central nervous system. Silva, 23, was employed as a nurse at Largo Medical Center last July when he contracted Covid-19 and ADEM. The maladies left him unresponsive and paralyzed, and reliant on a ventilator to breathe. After being treated in Massachusetts, Silva returned home today aboard an aircraft owned and operated by Jet ICU, a Tampa-based air ambulance company. Jet ICU offered the service, which normally costs about $25,000, free of charge. Silva, unfortunately, remains paralyzed but a GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $150,000 to help pay for his care.