In a death what does fluid found on all the organs and muscles mean?

Question

My brother died in July, we have been waiting for the aptopsy report for over 6 weeks now. All they can tell us so far is this.

he was diabetic and was facing alot of difficulties there. Was in the hospital the month before with infection in foot and broke due to week bones and kidneys failing him, and anemic. His blood sugar was not steady. One day high the next not. He has eye surgery the day before he passed away at home. He was looking into a second opinion about the removal of his foot due to infections. any help would be great.

Answer 1

I'm so sorry for your loss. Excess fluid found in the body is called edema and indicates kidney problems and/or failure. My mother had this exact same thing and passed away also.

Kidney problems in diabetics is very common. High blood sugar damages kidney tissue (along with other organs) and keeps the kidneys from properly filtering out excess fluid and toxins from the body.

In some instances, the toxins build up enough to cause heart failure which sounds like what happened to your brother. The toxins were probably extra bad because of the infection in his foot.

In my mother's case, all her organs shut down and she died. They tried to get things working again, but in her case there was nothing that could be done. It happens that way sometimes.

Time will heal your heart. It never goes away but it does get better. Trust me. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Know that people DO understand.