Nurse wakes up from 45-day coma after being given Viagra

NHS staff saved the life of their colleague when they gave her Viagra to help her breath after she contracted Covid-19 (Pictures: Monica Almeida)

A nurse who spent 45 days fighting for her life after contracting Covid-19 was finally cured in a ‘Christmas miracle’ – thanks to the help of Viagra.

Even though Monica Almeida had both her vaccines, she tested positive and ended up being rushed to hospital, where she went straight to the resuscitation room, The Sun reported.

The 37-year-old was critically ill and just 72 hours away from having her ventilator turned off when quick-thinking doctors decided to give her a large dose of the drug associated with erectile dysfunction.

Within just days, her breathing improved and the level of oxygen she needed dropped by half.

The mum-of-two told the paper: ‘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 how the drug works, it expands your blood vessels. I have asthma and my air sacks needed a little help.’

Following the experimental treatment, the specialist respiratory nurse from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, made it home for Christmas to celebrate with her loved ones after nearly two months stuck in a hospital bed.

Monica Almeida contracted Covid-19 back in October (Picture: Monica Almeida)

Her husband Artur visiting her at Lincoln County Hospital, where she stayed for nearly two months in critical condition (Picture: Monica Almeida)

Doctors told her that if she was not double-jabbed, she would have died (Picture: Monica Almeida)

Ms Almeida has now praised the creative staff at Lincoln County Hospital for giving her Viagra and – ultimately – saving her life.

She said: ‘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. It was my little Christmas miracle.’

Ms Almeida, who is also asthmatic, is now on the road to recovery, but doctors told her that if she had not been double-jabbed, she would have died.

The nurse was discharged from hospital on Christmas Dau, meaning she was able to spend the holiday with her husband and children (Picture: Monica Almeida)

The couple pictured on Christmas Day (Picture: Monica Almeida)

She tested positive for Covid-19 back in October and within days she lost her sense of smell and taste before starting to cough blood.

But when the nurse went to A&E, she was discharged with a prescription and no treatment.

Within two hours of being home, Ms Almeida woke up coughing and could not breathe properly so her husband called 999.

She was taken to the ICU and placed in a coma on November 16 with her condition so severe, her parents were told to fly from Portugal to say their final goodbyes.

After her discharge from the hospital, she said: ‘I never expected at 37 years of age to get as ill as I did.

‘I never thought this would happen to me and I want people to take it more seriously.’

Ms Almeida urged people to make a donation to the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity, using this link.

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