Montgomery is moved from ICU

It isn't known how much longer the auditor will remain in the hospital.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
The health of state Auditor Betty Montgomery, diagnosed with a rare nervous system disorder, is improving enough that doctors took her out of the intensive-care unit of a Columbus hospital.
"My doctors tell me I'm making great progress," Montgomery said in a statement. "Although I'm focused on my recovery, I look forward to resuming a full work schedule as soon as my doctors give me the green light."
When Montgomery will get that "green light" isn't known, said Jen Detwiler, her spokeswoman.
"We don't know how much longer she'll remain in the hospital," Detwiler said. "But she's making good progress. There is no timetable on her release, but it appears she's beyond the point of needing to be taken care of in the ICU."
Montgomery was transferred over the weekend from the ICU to a standard patient room, Detwiler said.
Montgomery was admitted May 17 to the Ohio State University Medical Center for complications after a respiratory virus.
Diagnosis
While at the hospital, doctors diagnosed her as having Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system.
The first symptoms include weakness or tingling sensations in the legs, and in many cases, it spreads to the arms and upper body, according to the Web site of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
This can increase in intensity until the muscles can't be used at all and the patient is almost paralyzed. There is no known cure for the syndrome, and the recovery period can be as short as a few weeks or as long as a few years, the institute says.
The auditor's office talks with Montgomery regularly over the telephone, Detwiler said.
Montgomery is the Republican nominee for attorney general, a position she held from 1995 to 2002. She faces state Sen. Marc Dann, a Liberty Democrat, in the November general election.
skolnick@vindy.com