Family Claims Woman Was Victim, Not Cause, of Fumes : Medicine: A Riverside County spokesman replies that doctors did all they could to save her.

The family of the woman whom authorities believe was the source of toxic fumes that forced evacuation of Riverside General Hospital’s emergency room said Thursday they are angry that she has been cast as a “toxic monster” and blamed the hospital for her death.

“Whatever killed her is something she breathed at the hospital,” said David Garcia, the brother-in-law of Gloria Ramirez, who died in the emergency room Feb. 19.

County spokesman Tom DeSantis bristled at the charge, saying the emergency room staff “heroically” continued their efforts to save the woman even as their colleagues collapsed around them.

Six emergency room attendants fainted--one remains hospitalized--after breathing what they characterized as ammonia-like odors coming from Ramirez’s blood after they drew a sample into a syringe. In the ensuing confusion, two people unaffected by the fumes tended to her as she went into full cardiac arrest. Within minutes, the 31-year-old woman--suffering from cervical cancer and weakened by nausea--died.

Riverside County and state health officials and toxic specialists say they still have no idea what caused the incident.

Members of the Riverside City Fire Department hazardous materials team said they found nothing unusual in the emergency room when they took air samples, and are themselves baffled.

Results of an extraordinary autopsy--in which pathologists and technicians donned special safety suits inside a specially built examination room--are pending. The Riverside County coroner’s office said preliminarily that she did not die of natural causes.

But the family said they are sure Ramirez was not responsible for the fumes. “We think toxic fumes came up from under her bed or somewhere, affected the staff and killed Gloria,” Garcia said. “We’re angry and outraged by all this cold speculation that characterizes Gloria as a toxic monster.”

Garcia said his sister-in-law had been suffering from nausea because she was taking painkillers for her cancer. The side effects had left her dehydrated and short of breath, prompting the 911 call that resulted in her being taken to Riverside General Hospital.

At the hospital, a diagnosis of cardiac distress was made, and treatment for it began.

None of the ambulance attendants or paramedics who tended to Ramirez in the ambulance complained of illness or odors, even after they inserted an intravenous line that caused some blood to spill.

Garcia speculated that a cleaning agent, perhaps containing a large amount of ammonia, was brought momentarily into the room, and the medical staff unwittingly inhaled it.

“Someone out there knows exactly what happened and now we want them to come forward, for the sake of Gloria’s children,” Garcia said.

He complained that the ensuing media attention given the incident has “turned into a science-fiction entertainment fiasco.”

“If people are going to speculate, then let’s think of all the possibilities, including that the fumes came up from beneath her, and not from her body,” he said.

Ronald Schwartz, an attorney representing the Ramirez family, speculated Thursday that the syringe used in the blood sample might already have been contaminated by an unknown substance, and its reaction to the blood sparked the incident.

“It could be something as simple as the syringe, or some kind of toxic waste in the emergency room or in a basin--but whatever it was, she didn’t bring it in there with her,” Schwartz said.

According to a Riverside Fire Department log and other reports, nurse Susan Kane drew a blood sample, remarked that it smelled unusual, and fainted. In quick succession, five others fell ill.

At about the same time, Ramirez went into full cardiac arrest and help was summoned. Dr. Huberto Ochoa, who heads the emergency room staff, arrived at Ramirez’s side, ordered the evacuation of the emergency room and took charge of efforts to revive her.

He said later that he was not affected by whatever had stricken his colleagues but said he noticed white crystals in the syringe containing Ramirez’s blood. “I’d never seen anything like it,” he said.

The six people affected said they experienced various symptoms including dizziness, breathing difficulty and muscle spasms.

Dr. Julie Gorchynski, the most seriously affected, remains hospitalized in good condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center, recovering from muscle spasms and breathing difficulties, said spokeswoman Anita Rockwell.

Ramirez had been to Loma Linda twice to prepare for cancer treatment, Rockwell said.

Schwartz, the family lawyer, said he was frustrated that the county has not been more forthcoming in providing results of its investigation.

County spokesman DeSantis said investigators are moving forward as quickly as possible. He said the syringe containing the blood sample “has been accounted for and is being analyzed.”