Candidate recovering, but is still in hospital

MERCED -- Supervisorial candidate Jim Pacheco is back in Merced, but still in the hospital after suffering from an inflamed pancreas last month.

His wife, Jeannette Pacheco, said her husband is recovering and should be home from Mercy Medical Center in one or two days, where he'll rest some more before resuming his campaigning.

"We don't expect it'll be much more than a week or two once he gets back home," Jeannette Pacheco said. "He should be back in the swing of things."

He had been flown to a San Francisco hospital after suffering stomach pains while walking precincts in Livingston last month.

Jim Pacheco's pancreatitis was treated through fasting, which allowed the inflammation to subside.

"It's excruciatingly painful, and the only way to heal it is by the pancreas not having to work, so you can't eat anything or drink anything the entire time you're recovering," Jeannette Pacheco said, adding that her husband is "very anxious to get home and get back to work, so it's looking good."

Jim Pacheco will face incumbent Supervisor John Pedrozo in November for the District 1 seat.

During a four-way election in June, Pedrozo garnered 48.3 percent of the vote, followed by Pacheco at 32.4 percent. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two -- Pedrozo and Pacheco -- will face each other in a runoff.

Reporter Mike North can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or mnorth@mercedsunstar.com.