Opinion ID: 2338603
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The physical condition of the testatrix.

Text: Between 1932, when her health commenced to deteriorate, and the time of her death in 1947, the testatrix suffered five cerebral hemmorhages or paralytic attacks. One of these caused a partial paralysis of her left side, another a weakness of her right hand and leg, another a mental confusion and difficulty in walking, another a permanent paralysis of her right side. In addition to these frightful strokes she suffered all the later years of her life from severe diabetes mellitus and arteriosclerosis, requiring her hospitalization on at least three occasions. The sudden and tragic death of her beloved and only son, Herbert, on January 5, 1946 (which was just a month before the execution of the will here in controversy) left her gravely shocked, grief-stricken, and physically and mentally exhausted, her condition being such that she was confined to bed for two weeks and her attending physician was much concerned. Her emotional instability and tension continued until and beyond the writing of her will. Her blood sugar rose on even the slightest excitement and she was repeatedly warned by her physician to avoid any nervous disturbance. She was in constant need of anti-spasmodics and sedatives. Her doctor  a physician of the highest standing in the professional circles of Pittsburgh  testified that, in his opinion, her physical condition and emotional state engendered by her son's death made her amenable to great pressure by which she might be led to do things she would not have done had her condition been normal. Such, then, is a picture of the weak, suffering and distracted victim of a wholly undue pressure exerted upon her to induce her to make her highly unnatural will.