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Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who is running for re-election tomorrow, is back in the hospital suffering from a serious staph infection.
Mark Shurtleff was admitted to University Hospital on Saturday because of the ongoing complications from a motorcycle accident last summer.
The attorney general's left leg was discovered to have a staph infection. Shurtleff's office says that doctors believe they caught the infection early and performed yet another surgery on his leg on Saturday.
The attorney general had major surgery in August because of a similar infection, and doctors installed a brace with rods into his leg to help it heal.
Shurtleff's spokesman Paul Murphy said, "One of the rods apparently became infected. He is still sitting in his hospital bed working by laptop and BlackBerry, and so he is doing the best he can, but he is doing it from a hospital bed."
Shurtleff was seriously injured in the summer of 2007 while riding a motorcycle during a fundraiser for the state's law enforcement memorial. His leg was broken in numerous places and has had a difficult time healing.
Being in the hospital is limiting last-minute campaigning, as he seeks another term as Utah's Attorney General; however, Shurtleff has enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls against his challenger Jean Welch Hill.
Shurtleff is hoping to be released from the hospital by tomorrow afternoon so he can vote in tomorrow's election.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
