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Nurse attacked at Palms West Hospital back at St. Mary's Medical Center due to medical complications

Leelamma Lal had been at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville since last Tuesday after undergoing surgery

Family photo, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley

Leelamma Lal

By: Samantha Roesler

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A nurse who was brutally beaten at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in Palm Beach County last month is preparing to come back to St. Mary's Medical Center due to medical complications, according to a representative of the family's lawyer.

Leelamma Lal, 67, had been at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville since last Tuesday after undergoing surgery on the right side of her face. Lal is now blind in one eye.

Nurse brutally attacked suffers 'uncertain road' after medical complications

However, the representative told WPTV on Wednesday that Lal has developed "multiple abscesses" around the surgical sites on her face. Lal will be transferred back to West Palm Beach on Thursday to treat those complications.

"This has felt like a major setback to the family, and she has been understandably discouraged," the spokesperson wrote. "We remain hopeful that things will improve and that she will overcome this latest challenge."

The representative said Lal "has made significant strides" since the attack, but there is still "a difficult and uncertain road ahead."

The suspect in the attack, Stephen Scantlebury, remains at the Palm Beach County jail and faces a charge of attempted murder.

READ MORE OF WPTV'S COVERAGE OF THE CASE: