Anna Nicole Hospitalized

Wed., Nov. 1, 2006 5:11 PM PST by Gina Serpe

Her son's death is still being investigated, her attorney quit after a public falling-out, she's locked in a paternity battle over her newborn daughter and unless she comes up with an exorbitant amount of money in the very near future, she may get kicked out of her house.

Now, capping a brutal month and a half, Anna Nicole Smith has been hospitalized.

The onetime Playboy Playmate is being treated for pneumonia at Nassau's Doctors Hospital, her reps confirmed Tuesday.

"She has a slight case of pneumonia," her new Bahamian attorney, Wayne Munroe, told the Associated Press. "We've had a sudden change of weather here due to a cold snap."

Munroe told the wire service the 38-year-old model was hospitalized as precautionary measure, because she recently gave birth.

"The impression I got is they took her in because her ribs were hurting, and then they discovered she had pneumonia," he added. "I didn't gather it was anything serious."

However, Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, said that Smith underwent a procedure Tuesday to drain fluid from a lung that had partially collapsed.

"A CT scan at the hospital revealed that she has pneumonia, with a significant amount of fluid in the lower lobe of her right lung," Stern said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. "We are hoping for a quick recovery, but as of now, Anna Nicole is still experiencing a significant amount of discomfort."

The Bahama mama is being treated at the same private facility where both her daughter, Dannielynn, was born and her son, Daniel, died last month.

Smith has yet to leave the islands since then, as news headlines and legal actions continue to mount.

On Monday, the saga continued, as a closed hearing was held in Los Angeles concerning the paternity lawsuit Larry Birkhead filed demanding Smith and Dannielynn return to California and undergo both DNA and drug testing. Birkhead claims he fathered the child, not Stern.

Last week, Birkhead also lodged a legal complaint a little closer to Smith's home—at least, her temporary home. The former paparazzo's Bahamas-based counsel filed a civil fraud and conspiracy suit against Smith and Stern Thursday, accusing the couple of wrongfully listing Stern's name on Dannielynn's birth certificate.

Birkhead has even suggested that Smith has dyed Dannielynn's hair to disguise her resemblance to him.

Smith has denied Birkhead's allegations. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8 challenging a would-be order for her and her nearly two-month-old baby to return to California to undergo testing.

In the meantime, the validity of Smith's residency in the Bahamas is also being questioned.

The TrimSpa hawker was granted permanent residency after supposedly purchasing a home on the islands. However, last week, a South Carolina-based developer stepped forward, claiming he owned the million-dollar waterfront mansion and that he would evict Smith & Co. unless she began making mortgage payments, prompting Smith to file a lawsuit.

As for the unresolved death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel, on Sept. 10, Bahamian officials have yet to release their toxicology tests or the results of a preliminary investigation by police.

However, tests done by Smith's private pathologist indicate that the young man died from a lethal combination of antidepressants and methadone. He was interred in a Nassau cemetery earlier this month.