ALT OVERSHOT ON DESCENT WHEN PLT DISTRACTED BY PASSENGER ILLNESS.

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DURING THE STOP AT BATON ROUGE MY WIFE BECAME ILL WITH WHAT WAS LATER DIAGNOSED AS A VIRUS. HOWEVER; SHE DID NOT TELL ME HOW BADLY SHE REALLY FELT. WE DEPARTED METRO-RYAN ARPT AT ABOUT XA30 HRS WITH AN ASSIGNED ALT OF 7000' AND ROUTING DIRECT TO THE PICAYUNE VOR AND THEN VIA VICTOR 552. MY TRANSPONDER WITH MODE C WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. AT ABOUT XB15 HRS; WHILE AT 7000' SOON AFTER PASSING PICAYUNE; IT WAS NECESSARY TO ENTER CLOUDS AND SOME LIGHT TO MODERATE TURB WAS ENCOUNTERED. GPT APCH CTL WAS THE CTLING AGENCY AT THE TIME. BECAUSE OF MY WIFE'S ILLNESS AND THE FLT CONDITIONS; SHE BECAME FRIGHTENED ALMOST TO THE POINT OF PANIC. SHE TOLD ME; 'I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS.' I REQUESTED AND RECEIVED CLRNC TO DSND TO 5000'. MY WIFE CONTINUED TO EXPRESS FEAR AND APPEARED TO BE VERY ILL. DURING THE DSCNT ATC SUGGESTED A CHANGE OF ROUTING DIRECT TO SAUFLEY VOR BECAUSE OF WX ALONG MY ASSIGNED ROUTE. I WAS NOT SURE OF THE EXACT LOCATION OF SAUFLEY; AND I HAD TO UNFOLD MY CHART TO FIND IT. I ACCEPTED THE CHANGE OF ROUTING AND THEN SAW THAT I WAS DSNDING THROUGH 4200'. I STARTED A CLB BACK TO 5000'; THEN REQUESTED AND RECEIVED CLRNC TO DSND TO AND MAINTAIN 3000'. I COMPLETED THAT DSCNT AND THE FLT THEN PROCEEDED NORMALLY TO DEST; FT WALTON BEACH. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED SOLELY BECAUSE I ALLOWED MYSELF TO BE DISTRACTED. I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THE CTLR TO STAND BY UNTIL I WAS ESTABLISHED AT 5000'. ALSO; A WARNING FROM THE CTLR BASED ON THE MODE C INFO WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL.