MOORHEAD-The State of the City address here will have to wait until February, with Mayor Del Rae Williams still hospitalized due to serious complications from an infection.

Williams was diagnosed last week with sepsis-an overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection in the body, spread through the bloodstream.

She's been on intravenous antibiotics since she was admitted to Sanford Health in Fargo on Wednesday, Jan. 18, with a high fever. She said her body temperature is still reaching 103 degrees several times a day.

A blood culture was taken late Saturday afternoon to see if bacteria is multiplying in her blood, but she likely won't hear the results of that until Monday morning.

"Either way, I won't be going anywhere," Williams said on the phone from her hospital bed Sunday afternoon.

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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, sepsis occurs most often in people over 65 or infants, those with weakened immune systems or chronic medical conditions.

Williams was susceptible because she has the inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn's, and a compromised immune system as a result.

She said she's scheduled to meet for a second time at Sanford with an infectious disease specialist. Also diagnosed with kidney stones, those will be dealt with later on an outpatient basis, Williams said.

On Monday, Jan. 23, Moorhead welcomes Christina Volkers as its new city manager. Williams was scheduled to give the State of the City address during the city council meeting in the evening. Instead, the address will happen during the Feb. 13 meeting.

In the meantime, Williams is catching up on emails from her hospital bed and trying to be patient.

"My doctor implied it would be Wednesday or Thursday before I get out, if the fevers went down," she said.