Abby Connolly
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.
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