Kate Bugtong, from Portsmouth, started suffering symptoms of coronavirus on April 14, including fever and headaches, but as her shortness of breath worsened, she was admitted to hospital eight days later where she was put on oxygen.
The nurse, who returned to work on Wednesday on her birthday at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in the Hampshire city, said she was offered dexamethasone as part of a trial being conducted alongside other treatments for her symptoms.
She said: ‘I am happy that I was able to take it, at first I was a bit hesitant about it, naturally.’
Ms Bugtong, from the Philippines, said that when she was discharged on April 29, she was still suffering from shortness of breath but her symptoms had improved.
On returning to work on the hospital's renal ward, she said: ‘I feel a mixture of everything to be back, I feel happy because I have been isolated for a bit long already but I am still adjusting because there are many changes.
‘And it's my birthday actually, so it's a half-half celebration, but I haven't been back to work for a long time so I said I would go back, I'm happy to be back.’
She added: ‘I am so happy and grateful I was able to take part in the Recovery trial. I experienced symptoms and later had to be admitted for breathing difficulties.
‘Thanks to the trial and the team I am back at work.’
The Recovery trial has shown dexamethasone to be the first treatment proven to reduce mortality in Covid-19 worldwide. It reduced deaths by one third in ventilated patients and by one fifth in patients requiring oxygen.
The Research and Innovation department at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust recruited 117 patients to the trial, making it the seventh-largest contributor in the UK out of 176 sites.