The Toxic Lady Who Infected 23 ER Staff Members
Nobody can agree on what happened the night Gloria Ramirez was brought into the ER.
On February 19, 1994, 31-year-old Gloria Ramirez was rushed to Riverside General Hospital in California at 8:15 PM. Gloria, who had been previously diagnosed with cervical cancer, was conscious but confused and unable to answer any questions properly. Her heart was beating too fast for her body, her breathing was shallow, and her blood pressure was dropping.
Gloria was injected with Versed, Valium, and Ativan to sedate her, and lidocaine and bretylium to ease her tachyarrhythmia. She was not responding so the ER staff decided to try and defibrillate her heart. This is when nurses noticed an oily sheen on her body and a fruity, garlicky smell coming from her mouth.
Susan Kane, a registered nurse, started drawing blood from Gloria’s arm and noticed an ammonia-like smell coming from the syringe. She passed it to a medical student, Julie Gorchynski, who then saw manila-colored particles in the blood.
Within moments, Kane complained that her face was burning and fainted. Physician Humberto Ochoa called for a gurney and Kane was wheeled out of the room. Meanwhile, Gorchynski began to feel nauseated and lightheaded. She left the room and sat at the nurse’s desk but passed out moments later. Next, Maureen Welch…
