And what caused her hypokalemia? Physical struggle can cause blood potassium levels to drop, but there's no sensible reason Terri should have been involved in any such struggle prior to her collapse (unless, of course, someone bodily attacked her). Since the "bulemia" theory has also been shot out of the water, what other explanation can you offer for hypokalemia other than that Terri was bodily attacked by Michael Schiavo?
* Beal AL,
* Scheltema KE,
* Beilman GJ,
* Deuser WE.
North Memorial Health Care, Robbinsdale, Minnesota, 55422, USA."Frequent hypokalemia was noted immediately after trauma, and it was hypothesized that hypokalemia occurred more frequently in the more severely injured." Detailed results follow... here
Terri, who had "severe" hypokalemia (K < 3.1 meq/l) -- hers was 2.0 -- fit only too snugly into several of these categories associated with more serious injuries.
Note. Terri's hypokalemia was spotted immediately in the ER, treated by an IV drip (as I recall) and stabilized within hours. Her blood potassium was normal by afternoon and the problem never recurred. It was a one-time thing, presumably caused by one-time trauma or stress. Needless to say, this is not the profile of chronic potassium deficiencies caused by drinking 4 gallons of iced tea at 4:30 a.m., Sundays.