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In February 1994, Gloria Ramirez was admitted to a hospital in Riverside, California, with late stage cervical cancer. Little did her attending doctors and nurses know she was a human toxicity bomb. After some basic treatment and blood work, a strange odor emerged from where the syringe had pricked her and hospital staff began getting sick fast. Disease outbreaks, or something like a disease at any rate, spread throughout the hospital, with 23 people experiencing symptoms and some requiring weeks of hospitalization.
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As modern humans with the benefit of hundreds of years of scientific study
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we think we have a pretty good handle on the human body and how it works
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But do we? Truly. In the strange case of Gloria Ramirez, doctors have taken their best guesses
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But this case remains a singularly horrifying, unexplainable medical mystery. One that will make you second guess the next time you have an ache or pain
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So, today we're putting under the microscope the disturbing illness of Gloria Ramirez
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a woman who laid waste to an entire medical staff with internal toxic fumes
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All right, time to give WebMD a workout. Um, more than usual
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In February 1994, Gloria Ramirez was rushed to a hospital in Riverside, California
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with unexpected complications from late-stage cervical cancer. She had been diligently battling with the disease, but her health was decaying
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and she was slowly succumbing to both it and the ravages of time
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Little did her attending doctors and nurses know that cervical cancer was not the only darkness following Ramirez
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She was afflicted with something even more otherworldly. She was a human toxicity bomb, and not in the fun system of a down way
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Not knowing anything was amiss, her doctors followed the usual by-the-book approach to giving care to the ailing
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However, after some basic treatment and blood work, a strange odor emerged from the spot on her body where the syringe had pricked her
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Initially thinking nothing of it, the medical staff carried on nonchalantly until the hospital staff began getting sick fast and not in the fun thrash metal slayer way
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Outbreaks of an unknown disease, or something like a disease at any rate, spread throughout
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the hospital. Bizarre symptoms, coughing fits, and loss of consciousness moved through the ward like wildfire
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Before anyone knew what was happening, 23 people were experiencing symptoms. Some of these diligent healthcare workers ended up requiring weeks of hospitalization
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What exactly caused these issues? Well, put simply, Gloria Ramirez. When she checked into that Riverside Hospital
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she was essentially a smallpox blanket or the Velveteen Rabbit, which is a book
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you used to have to read in school. The only difference was no one could say for sure
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what was afflicting her. Her status as a typhoid Mary was all but certain
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but the disease she was carrying was utterly unknown. So less typhoid Mary more not sure Gloria which is a less catchy nickname For months newspapers were fascinated by the story of a woman who contaminated an entire hospital wing
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Today, there's still a lot of speculation surrounding the Gloria Ramirez case
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But the cause of her symptoms have so far eluded medical science
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Gloria Ramirez was taken to the emergency room in Riverside, California on February 19, 1994
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with advanced cervical cancer. Ramirez was disoriented, short of breath, and had a rapid
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heartbeat. She also displayed unusual symptoms not typically associated with cervical cancer
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She had oily skin and a fruity, garlic-like odor coming from her mouth. When a nurse injected her
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with an IV to draw blood, the smell of ammonia filled the room
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Wonder how many of those doctors thought they were in the first act of a zombie movie? Most
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All? Shortly after a nurse drew blood from Ramirez, those in the emergency room began experiencing
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unusual symptoms themselves. The nurse who drew the blood collapsed near the door of the ER and said she felt a burning
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sensation in her face. A medical resident also collapsed and experienced shakiness and shortness of breath
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Other medical professionals attending to Ramirez experienced similar symptoms. A respiratory therapist fainted and lost control of her limbs
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Several other staff members began getting sick as well, and an internal emergency was
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declared at the hospital. All emergency room patients were quickly evacuated to prevent the illness from spreading further
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If only Zach Braff had been around to contextualize these symptoms in a pat voiceover set to the fray
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We can only dream. One of the most widely accepted theories about the event centers around Ramirez's cancer medications
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and how they may have led to chain reactions resulting in poisonous gas
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It's theorized that Ramirez was using the drug dimethyl sulfoxide, or DMSO
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which sounds like a dance pop song by Chapel Roan, to treat a variety of aches and pains related to her cancer
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This is because dimethyl sulfone was found in her system, which is the metabolized form of DMSO
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The DMSO may have metabolized when paramedics administered oxygen. So technically, it's all their fault if this explanation is true
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But even so, the paramedics couldn't have known to do anything different. According to the theory, when Ramirez's blood was drawn in the emergency room
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its temperature dropped sharply. This caused the dimethyl sulfone to convert to the deadly chemical compound dimethyl sulfate which was then released into the air The symptoms the exposed people experienced such as shortness of breath are common signs of dimethyl sulfate poisoning
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Not everyone buys the hypothesis that dimethyl sulfoxide somehow converted into dimethyl sulfate
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resulting in the staph being poisoned. Several organic chemists expressed skepticism after this
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theory was made public, claiming the step-by-step chemical reactions presented seemed unlikely
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Other scientists have pointed out it usually takes hours for dimethyl sulfate poisoning victims to
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show symptoms, with most experiencing tearing up in the eyes. Ramirez's medical staff experienced
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symptoms instantly, and none of them had the watery eyes typically associated with the poisoning
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Medical professionals at Riverside General Hospital tried everything to help Gloria Ramirez
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They strictly adhered to cervical cancer treatment methods. Valium, midazolam, and Ativan were used to sedate the patient
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And other drugs, like lidocaine, were used to steady her heart. The staff gave Ramirez oxygen with an ambu bag
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But still, her condition only worsened. As a final attempt to help the woman, electricity was used to defibrillate her heart
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Cushioned electrodes were stuck to her. But the method failed. Her body began to produce these strange toxins that affected everyone else
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Sadly, Gloria Ramirez did not survive long after entering the ER. Her blood pressure continued to drop while her pulse faded
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Despite medical staff administering electric shocks and drugs, Ramirez passed away at 8.50
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that evening. She had been in the ER for less than an hour before she died
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Some online sleuths have taken it upon themselves to evaluate the mystery surrounding Ramirez's condition
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Some have suggested some of Ramirez's symptoms sound similar to arsenic poisoning and that
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Arsenic is known to emit a garlic-like scent. Amateur internet detectives theorize Ramirez may have been self-medicating or seeing a shady
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doctor for quack treatments involving dangerous chemicals. And if there's one thing we know about people on the internet, it's that they are always right
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The aftermath of Ramirez's visit to the ER left 23 out of the 37 staff members experiencing
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at least one symptom of poisoning. Luckily, most people's symptoms were minimal. However, some staff members required extra care
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Nurse Sally Boldaris had to be hospitalized for 10 days due to sleep apnea, but medical resident
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Julie Gorchinsky was the most severely damaged She remained hospitalized for two weeks with hepatitis pancreatitis and a condition that caused bone tissue to deteriorate Yikes She was restricted to crutches for months in the aftermath of the Ramirez incident
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In other words, whatever the toxin released by Ramirez, it was quite potent. Due to the
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unexplained poisoning that occurred, Ramirez's autopsy was conducted very carefully to avoid
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further illness spreading. Pathologists wore moon suits to carry out the autopsy and worked in a
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sealed chamber, like that Fox special, Alien Autopsy. The autopsy took 90 minutes, during which time blood and tissue samples, as well as
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air from Ramirez's body bag, were taken for examination. Gloria Ramirez's illness and death created a media frenzy
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The Riverside General Hospital that tried to revive her was featured in countless news
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stories, and the staff members mysteriously afflicted by her bodily fumes became tragic heroes
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People in California and the country as a whole began to fear for their own safety
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Many TV stations exploited the fear of airborne diseases and ran endless programs about Ramirez's
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death. Ramirez's family and friends were unhappy with the media attention her death received
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and suspected the hospital, not Ramirez, was responsible for the deadly release of gas
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which is admittedly a reasonable explanation. The reverend at her funeral openly blamed the
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hospital for Ramirez's untimely death. He also condemned the county for not sharing the results
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of the investigation of Ramirez's death with her family. In fact, Ramirez's body was not released
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for an independent autopsy for two months. By then, it was badly decomposed. Her heart was missing
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and several organs had been contaminated. This made it impossible to determine an official cause
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of death. Ramirez died in February 1994, but her body was not released for burial until April of
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that year, she was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Olivewood Memorial Park in Riverside
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California. Ultimately, no one will ever know what truly happened with Ramirez's body
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or what strange cocktail of medicines and chemicals could have yielded this completely
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unheard of medical outcome if indeed the toxic fumes were released by her body
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Given the time that has passed and the lack of interest from the general public all these years
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later, a definitive solution and conclusion is highly unlikely. The only thing that can be said
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for sure is that the circumstances that yielded these tragic results seemed so specific that
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they're unlikely to occur again, not with any regularity anyway. Hopefully, doctors will one
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day piece together what brew of coincidence and bad luck caused this mysterious affliction to
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spread like wildfire in the spring of 1994