The Toxic Lady: The Patient Whose Blood Knocked Out an Emergency Room
On the evening of February 19, 1994, paramedics rushed Gloria Ramirez, a 31-year-old mother of two, into the emergency room of Riverside General Hospital in Southern California. She was suffering from advanced cervical cancer, her heart was racing, and she could barely breathe. What happened over the next few minutes turned a routine emergency admission into one of the strangest documented incidents in modern medicine.
Staff noticed that Ramirez's skin appeared to have an oily sheen and that a fruity, garlic-like odor hung around her. When a nurse drew blood, the syringe reportedly smelled of ammonia, and pale, manila-colored crystals seemed to be floating in the sample. Then the nurse fainted. A medical resident felt nauseated and collapsed as well, followed by others. The emergency room was evacuated, and patients were moved to the parking lot. In total, 23 people reported symptoms and five were hospitalized. One physician, Dr. Julie Gorchynski, spent two weeks in intensive care and later developed avascular necrosis, a condition that damages bone tissue. Ramirez herself could not be saved: she was pronounced dead less than an hour after arriving. The coroner determined she died of kidney failure brought on by her cancer.
Sign up and get your first month completely free — unlimited access to the entire archive, ad-free for subscribers. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe — first month free