I was caught by a bigger catfish scheme (google April Rose scam and you'll probably find plenty) and then by a catfish done by someone pretending to be exposing the first catfish. I was one of many and not involved at a personal level and it was still extremely hard to get through and to trust anyone online who said they were ill with anything for a long time. It was also hard to believe when the scam fell apart that it was really falling apart. One day I was praying for this woman and her "dying baby" and 24 hours later it was all a hoax. Within days I joined a group of other victims only to find out a few years later that was a scam too and possibly done in conjunction with scammer #1. I never have known exactly what to believe after that about the entire mess.

The only advice I have is to just be there for your friend. Chances are good that eventually she'll figure this out and will struggle with it for a while. I know I felt so stupid about some of what I believed because I'm a healthcare professional and should have known it wasn't possible. It's impossible to know how things will play out but these things seem to pretty much always do. Perhaps reading about some of the big ones that have happened (April Rose, Warrior Eli, Manteo, Gina with cystic fibrosis, and others) might prepare you for what she will experience?