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Monica Almeida, 37, was hospitalised on November 9 following a positive Covid-19 test on October 19.
She lost her sense of taste and smell, started coughing blood, and her oxygen levels fell in just four days. As her condition worsened, she was transferred to Lincoln County Hospital’s intensive care unit and then placed in an induced coma on November 16.
When her condition began to improve, she was only 72 hours away from having her ventilator switched off, according to sources.
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Before being put into a medically induced coma, Almeida reportedly signed a contract agreeing to participate in a pharmacological trial.
Doctors at Lincoln County Hospital discovered the nurse had been given the erectile dysfunction medicine viagra a week after being placed in an induced coma.
Almeida claimed that the medicine helped her condition.
“It was definitely the Viagra that saved me. Within 48 hours it opened up my airwaves and my lungs started to respond. If you think about how the drug works, it expands your blood vessels. I have asthma and my air sacs needed a little help,” the nurse told The Sun.
She further added, “I had a little joke with the consultant after I came round because I knew him. He told me it was the Viagra, I laughed and thought he was joking, but he said ‘no, really, you’ve had a large dose of Viagra’,”
She was able to celebrate the holidays with her family after being released on Christmas Eve. Her full recovery, however, is expected to take months.
According to reports, scientists all around the world are now testing whether the erectile dysfunction medication may be used to boost blood oxygen levels.