Walter Dearing, former Democratic candidate for Missouri's 150th district state representative seat, is in Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett, Missouri, after overnight surgery Monday to repair a tear in his colon.

"We're lucky we still have him, and we're just glad he's all right," said Dearing's wife, Susan.

She said her husband hadn't been feeling well since getting a flu shot late last week.

"He wasn't getting better, and he just thought it was because of the shot. When we couldn't convince him to go to the doctor, we got Dr. [Dave] Jain to call him on Monday night and find out how he was doing," Susan Dearing said. "As soon as he heard his symptoms, Dr. Jain said, 'You need to get yourself to the hospital right now.'"

When the Dearings arrived at the hospital about 8:30 p.m., doctors discovered Dearing's kidneys had begun to shut down. He was rushed into surgery.

Susan Dearing said the surgery went smoothly, and her husband is recovering.