The Toxic Lady: The Medical Mystery Surrounding Gloria Ramirez

On the night of February 19, 1994, at Riverside General Hospital in Moreno Valley, California, Gloria Ramirez was wheeled into the emergency room. She was 31 years old, semi-conscious, and nearing the end of a brutal fight with cervical cancer. She was also a mother of two, a wife, and someone who, despite the diagnosis, had spent her final months at home surrounded by family, trying to manage the pain with dignity. Her condition had deteriorated rapidly that evening; her breathing had become laboured, her heart unsteady, and her caregivers made the desperate decision to call an ambulance. It was meant to be a last-ditch effort. No one could have imagined what would follow.

Gloria arrived just after 8:15 p.m. The medical team did what they always did. She was given Ringer’s lactate through an IV to stabilise her fluids, sedated with diazepam, lorazepam, and midazolam, and placed on oxygen using an Ambu-bag to force air into her lungs. For those first few minutes, everything followed protocol. But when a nurse inserted a catheter to draw blood, the situation shifted. The syringe filled, and a sharp, ammonia-like smell drifted into the air. It was strong and unmistakable. Some said it reminded them of chemotherapy patients, others described it as chemical and caustic. Floating in the blood sample were strange manila-coloured particles no one could identify.

Susan Kane, the nurse who’d drawn the blood, stood up and felt lightheaded. She collapsed before she reached the door. Julie Gorchynski, a medical resident, took one breath near the sample and began to convulse, later needing two weeks in intensive care. Maureen Welch, the respiratory therapist, passed out shortly after. In total, 23 of the 37 ER staff present began exhibiting symptoms: fainting, shortness of breath, muscle spasms, nausea, and even temporary paralysis. It wasn’t fear, these were trained professionals. Whatever they were exposed to, it was real, and it was airborne.

Dr. Humberto Ochoa, overseeing the ER that night, fell ill himself and gave the order to evacuate. Patients and staff spilled into the parking lot, stripped down to their underwear, and sealed their contaminated clothing in hazmat bags. Inside, a secondary trauma team in full PPE tried to stabilise Ramirez. They performed CPR for nearly 40 minutes before calling the time of death at 8:50 p.m. Her body was immediately sealed in multiple layers, placed in an aluminium casket, and isolated in the morgue. The ER was swept by hazmat teams. Nothing was found.

An autopsy followed, but even that was done with extreme caution. Pathologists in full protective suits examined Ramirez in a sealed room. Blood, tissue, and air samples were collected. Ninety minutes later, they emerged with more questions than answers. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest, caused by kidney failure, which in turn was caused by terminal cancer. There was no evidence that the fumes played a role in her death. But they had affected everyone else. The mystery wasn’t how she died, it was how she had nearly taken a roomful of people with her.

With pressure mounting, Riverside officials launched one of the most exhaustive investigations in California medical history. The county health department, unable to identify a culprit, proposed something shocking: mass hysteria. According to their report, the symptoms were psychosomatic, caused not by toxins, but by stress and suggestion. To the people who had collapsed, convulsed, and been hospitalised, it felt like a slap in the face. Some filed lawsuits. Others simply refused to be part of the narrative.

That’s when the coroner sought help from outside: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a research facility better known for nuclear weapons than medical forensics. There, a team led by Brian Andresen uncovered traces of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in Ramirez’s body. DMSO is a solvent sometimes used as a home remedy for pain. Stable and mostly harmless on its own, it can become something else entirely under the right conditions. Andresen theorised that oxygen administered during treatment had converted DMSO into dimethyl sulfone, which crystallises at room temperature—perhaps explaining the particles seen in her blood. But with the added jolt of a defibrillator, a third transformation could have occurred: dimethyl sulfate, a poisonous gas capable of causing the exact symptoms experienced by ER staff.

This “chemical chain reaction” theory was embraced by the coroner and published in Forensic Science International. It seemed like the closest thing to an answer. But not everyone agreed. Leading toxicologists questioned whether the proposed chemical reactions were even possible in a clinical setting. Others pointed out that trace amounts of DMSO are common and rarely significant. And Ramirez’s family insisted she wasn’t self-medicating.

Then came a new theory, one that had nothing to do with DMSO. A report in New Times LA claimed that methylamine, a chemical often used in methamphetamine production, might have been the real cause. Hospitals use methylamine in sterilising agents, and some workers, the article alleged, had been smuggling it out using IV bags. If an IV bag containing methylamine had been accidentally administered to Ramirez, it would have reacted violently with oxygen, releasing toxic vapours that could explain everything. Methylamine dissipates quickly, meaning no traces would be found later. The idea was dismissed by officials but quietly considered by many, especially those familiar with Riverside County’s history as a meth production hotspot. Some called it far-fetched. Others, especially emergency responders who’d seen methylamine accidents before, found it alarmingly plausible.

Today, the case remains unresolved. Gloria Ramirez has been buried, her story cemented in medical lore, but the questions haven’t faded. Was it a freak chemical reaction? A tragic accident caused by hospital error? Or something else entirely?

What often gets lost in all the speculation is the fact that Gloria was more than a medical mystery. She was a real person, a wife, a mother, a daughter, fighting through the final stages of a devastating illness. In her final moments, she likely had no idea what her body was going through or how her name would echo around the world. It’s easy to focus on the science, the drama, the theories. But at the heart of this strange and haunting story is a woman who deserved better. She deserved peace. She deserved answers. And maybe, one day, she’ll get them.