Doctors and nurses immediately began working on her. They administered sedatives and anti-arrhythmic medications to stabilize her. When they drew her blood for tests, however, things took a strange turn. Nurses reported a garbled, ammonia-like smell coming from the tube of blood.
One nurse, Susan Kane, fainted after smelling the blood. Another nurse experienced a burning sensation in her face and arms. A respiratory therapist became dizzy, and within a few minutes, nearly a dozen medical staff members began to fall ill, with many passing out or experiencing muscle spasms. gloriya_umorix_se_ot_tebflv
On the evening of February 19, 1994, at the Riverside General Hospital in California, 31-year-old Gloria Ramirez was rushed into the emergency room. She was suffering from severe complications related to late-stage cervical cancer. She was confused, having trouble breathing, and her heart was beating very rapidly. Doctors and nurses immediately began working on her
While the DMSO theory is the most commonly accepted, it has not been definitively proven. Some argue the symptoms were a case of mass hysteria within the hospital staff, though this does not explain the physical particles found in her blood samples. Nurses reported a garbled, ammonia-like smell coming from
The situation was so severe that the hospital staff ordered an immediate evacuation of the emergency room. A small team remained behind to treat Gloria, while the rest of the ER was cleared. Gloria Ramirez unfortunately passed away shortly after.
Ramirez was taking dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for pain, a home remedy that is a gel-like solvent.
Later, electrical shocks from defibrillation could have converted this into dimethyl sulfate, a highly toxic nerve gas.