Hello & Welcome, Sam5545!
Thunderbear's advice is most sound. Be a good, non-judgmental listener - or correspondent in this case. You might check through the
Caregivers Support Forum; I think you may find some threads there on long-distance care-giving.
You may be facing some cross-cultural issues, too.
Wishing you peace of mind and effective help for your friend.
__________________
My dog
mastered the "fetch" command. He would communicate he wanted something, and I would fetch it.