A few days ago, my Dad took my Mom to a her doctor's for a routine appointment and blood work. They went home and received a call that she would have to come back the next day for blood work. Her potassium level was high. So, she went back the next day, got more blood drawn, and went home. They received another call later to take her into the E.R.
Dad took Mom to Womack on Monday. Her potassium level was over 8 mEq/L (3.5-5.0 mEq/L is the normal range). She was in acute renal failure and was admitted to the hospital. The kidneys normally remove excess potassium from the body, but hers weren't functioning properly.
They did get her potassium level down to 4.6 mEq/L while she was in the E.R
It was late when she was admitted, so we (my siblings and I) didn't find out until Tuesday. They kept her in the hospital a couple of days to make sure that all of her medicines were functioning well with her kidneys. She had a CT Scan as well as lots of blood work. Yesterday morning, they told her that they were going to take her Foley catheter out and that she could go home as soon as she urinated.
Well, she drank and drank so much water that she ended up throwing up. But, she could not urinate. So, they put the Foley catheter back in and sent her home. Daddy had already been trained in the care of a Foley and how to remove and replace them. They already had the equipment at home.
The last time she was in the hospital (a month or two ago), she had a very bad UTI and was septic. She was sent home with a catheter then; but after she healed up, they were able to remove it.
Anyway, Mom is back home and very happy to be home. She sounded good when I talked to her.
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