She Was Rushed To A California Hospital In 1994, And Her Blood Had Such High Levels Of A Toxic Substance That It Caused Over 20 Staff Members To Become Sick In Her Presence
The true story I’m about to share with you may fascinate a few die-hard “Grey’s Anatomy” fans, so if you are one, buckle up!
If you’ve seen the famous medical television series, you may remember the 14th episode of the fourth season, “Wishin’ and Hopin,'” where medical staff at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital are faced with a patient whose blood turns out to be toxic. Whenever a physician first entered the operating room where the patient was, they would mysteriously fall ill.
Did you know that episode was likely inspired by a real medical case that shocked the nation?
The patient was Gloria Ramirez, known in the medical world as the “Toxic Lady.”
Gloria Ramirez was a lovely mother and wife who lived in Riverside, California. Then, in 1994, her health made headlines when she was rushed to General Hospital in February.
At the time of her hospital visit, Gloria was only 31 years old, but she was suffering from late-stage cervical cancer. She went into the hospital for heart palpitations and was hardly able to breathe. Medical staff were puzzled as they frantically tried to get her vitals at normal levels with drugs and fluids but struggled greatly.
At one point, when medical staff tried to use defibrillator electrodes on her skin, they noticed it had an oily sheen to it, and a garlic-like odor was coming from her mouth.
As the visit progressed, nurses and doctors noticed more unusual things about Gloria’s condition. When a sample of her blood was taken, a nurse noticed it smelled like ammonia, and brown-yellow specs were floating in it.
Around this time, nurses and other physicians at the hospital began falling ill. Suddenly, after treating Gloria, three nurses felt very sick. They were fainting and having trouble breathing, and one woke up unable to move her limbs.
stokkete – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Before long, six staff members became sick after trying to treat Gloria. There was fainting, people with shortness of breath, nausea, and brief periods of paralysis. Emergency room patients had to be moved to a different location.
Tragically, Gloria died later that night, and her cause of death was listed as kidney failure, which was related to her cancer. By the end of that day, it is estimated a little over 20 people became sick in her presence.
Gloria’s body had to be placed in a special room, and her autopsy took much longer than the average one, as examiners and researchers had to wear hazmat suits before examining her, and they had a mystery to solve.
They were determined to figure out why her blood and presence in the hospital made so many people sick.
Scientists at the California Department of Health and Human Services conducted interviews with many staff members from the hospital who were there the night Gloria came in and discovered that the people who worked within two feet of Gloria and handled her IVs suffered the most.
After running toxicology reports and doing extensive research on her medical history, it was discovered that Gloria had high levels of dimethyl sulfone (DMSO) in her blood and tissues. DMSO is a toxic substance, but in the 1960s, doctors believed it could help patients relieve pain, and they were instructed to rub it onto their skin to relieve aches and pains.
As years went by, the dangers of using DMSO on human skin were slowly uncovered, and by the late 1970s, you could only find it in hardware stores, as it is also used as a degreaser.
Scientists and researchers believe that Gloria may have attempted to use DMSO to relieve the stubborn pain brought on by her cervical cancer by rubbing it all over her body. While her family denied she ever used it, it would have explained the sheen to her skin and garlic-y breath.
Additionally, the symptoms of the sick staff members all aligned with the symptoms of dimethyl sulfate poisoning.
Since this incident, Gloria’s been known as the “Toxic Lady” because of her historical hospital visit. Still, while we can learn something from her story and see how it affected the medical community, it’s important to remember her for the funny and kind woman she was.
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