"Mrs. Wendland told the Times that doctors at Lodi Memorial Hospital informed her July 2 that her husband had an infection. One of his lungs collapsed July 8, and doctors were not able to drain all the fluid from it, according to the Times.
He was diagnosed with pneumonia, and was given antibiotics. When they did not work, Mrs. Wendland "made the decision that aggressive treatment was not in his interest, and he was kept comfortable," Lawrence Nelson, Mrs. Wendland's lawyer, told the Times.
Mrs. Wendland ordered that Robert's mother should not be told the details of her son's medical condition while he was suffering from pneumonia, the Times reported. According to the newspaper, the Superior Court in Stockton and the 3rd District Court of Appeal rejected Florence Wendland's emergency petitions to find out the details of his condition and to have Robert examined by a doctor of her choice.