Do you think depression and sadness can do this to an older person?

I have a friend, 71, who had a terrible childhood . Her mother walked out on her when she was little and turned her over to a sadistic aunt. Then twenty years ago her daughter and son left her for somewhere a thousand miles away and she began therapy with a psychiatrist. Do you think these circumstances could cause her to have pain and numbness from her elbow to her fingertips 24/7 to the point she has surgery scheduled Monday? The doctor says it’s carpal tunnel syndrome. I have another lady friend whose hand went bad on her when her husband left her with three children for another woman and she still can barely write with it. She went to Scott & White and even they couldn’t figure it out.