PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – 8 On Your Side has been following the story about Largo nurse, Desmon Silva after he became paralyzed from the neck down due to complications from the coronavirus and the flu.

8 On Your Side was also there when the Tampa Bay community and people from all over the country stepped up to help fund his medical flight to Boston for further treatment.

Now, on Wednesday, Silva’s 23rd birthday, his community is showing up for him once again. 

The staff at Largo Medical Center, where Silva is a registered nurse, have joined forces with the medical staff caring for Silva at Massachusetts General Hospital, to ensure this birthday is a memorable one by using the hashtag #DesmonStrong.  

“We made a cute video that we sent him, we made a banner and all of us signed it with happy birthday comments on it. We sent a key lime pie because that’s something Florida is known for and we sent it up to the staff to show our gratitude for everything,” said Amber Walker, nurse manager at Largo Medical Center. 

Along with Key Lime pies, Largo Medical Center staff also sent Massachusetts General nurses food, as a thank you for taking care of one of their own.  

“I think we’re all coming together as a family to show his family support and that’s what we do here at Largo. You know, we’re really family-oriented and we take good care of our employees. This is just what we do,” said Walker.  

Silva, who is still paralyzed, was known around the hospital as being charismatic and according to his close friend and fellow RN, Anna Swinehart, Silva was known to dance his way through his shifts.  

“I knew from the first shift that we were going to be really close,” said Swinehart. “His personality and my personality kind of just clicked…When he comes back, we’re going to do our dance the ‘Milly Rock’ and just joke around and bring light to the floor.”