Possibly, they are having kidney trouble or a circulation problem. Both not good. If it’s one leg it could be a blood clot. These are just possibilities obviously. My MIL gets swollen legs every time she flies and it lasts for two weeks, and it’s been going for 30 years. Although, she was never hospitalized for it. She isn’t an alcoholic, but you don’t need to be an alcoholic to have kidney, circulation, or cardiac problems. Being hospitalized seems like it’s probably something that needs to be addressed. When Kidneys begin to go in an alcoholic that’s a bad situation, especially if it’s concurrent with the liver failing. I hope that’s not the case.