In pain and feverish, Utah AG Shurtleff hospitalized for 'serious leg infection'

By Melinda Rogers
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 06/21/2008 12:28:59 PM MDT

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was admitted to a hospital today after complaining of pain, a spokesman said.

"We know he's in a great deal of pain, he has a high fever and that it may be serious," said Paul Murphy, a spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office.

Family brought Shurtleff to the University of Utah Hospital at about 10:30 a.m., Murphy said.

He will undergo surgery this evening for what Murphy described as a "serious leg infection." Shurtleff is expected to be hospitalized overnight and maybe longer, Murphy said.

Shurtleff underwent surgery two weeks ago to repair a previous surgery needed after he fractured his leg in at least seven places after a motorcycle accident Sept. 22. The latest surgery was to repair screws that had fallen loose in a steel plate in Shurtleff's leg, Murphy said.

Utah's top prosecutor will undergo his seventh surgery in the last nine months tonight.

Shurtleff has been in a "great deal of pain" since his surgery two weeks ago and has dealt with a swollen leg continuously since his accident, Murphy said.

His condition worsened as he attended the National Association of Attorney Generals Conference in Rhode Island last week. He asked his family to take him to the hospital after his pain increased when he returned home
from the conference.

Murphy said Shurtleff will undergo cultures during tonight's surgery to determine whether or not he's ailing from a staph infection.

Shurtleff suffered the motorcycle accident while preparing for a charity ride dubbed "Fall Ride for Fallen Officers" for the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. The group was raising money to build a memorial at the state Capitol for law-enforcement officers killed while on duty.

The day before the ride, Shurtleff was test-driving a Harley Davidson Road King motorcycle when the bike slid on a patch of gravel and landed on him.

mrogers@sltrib.com
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