The answers to Gloria Ramirez's mysterious death could help a doctor and a nurse who have been sick ever since they treated Ramirez in a hospital emergency room.
Physician Julie Gorchynski, 33, was hospitalized for two weeks after she smelled an ammonia-type odor and passed out while treating Ramirez.
On Wednesday, she underwent knee joint surgery because her bones have weakened from poor blood circulation - a condition she blames on her exposure to Ramirez.
Gorchynski, who can only walk with crutches, also suffers from severe breathing problems.
"I used to deal with stress by surfing, but now that luxury is taken away from me. . . . I realize more than ever how fragile life and health can be," she said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Nurse Sally Balderas was hospitalized for 10 days and is still out of work, suffering from abdominal pain, headaches and vomiting.
Like Gorchynski, Balderas now has a disorder in which her breathing temporarily stops while she's sleeping.
"Nobody knows anything," Balderas says. "It's so frustrating still not knowing what happened."
