[SecondTimearound201]

Hello,

I hope i'm okay to do this here, and its the right place. I guess i'm looking for advice on how to deal with a situation. This is a situation i have been involved with strictly on the internet.

Essentially a friend of mine, has a friend in her life they have known each other for 3-4 years. I've know my friend online 4 months, and known and interacted with her friend for 1 month. Recently we went through an ordeal where her friend has an accident and was in a 'coma' and is now awake. I'll just give some flavour of what i have seen in just the month. All this information is passed on by my friend, ive met this other friend too in a virtual world, and shes talked of the first 2 i have been around for, the car accident happened recently

These two happens in the 3 weeks until Wednesday.
She got Assaulted - not many details, just she got assaulted and needed comforting
She got attacked and her arm manged by a dog.

these two items i told happened previously.

She got stabbed earlier in the year and got discharged in a game.
She got misdiagnosed with meningitis.

So i was told the below by my friend as to the current situation from last Wednesday onwards in the order the information was fed to me. I was obviously comforting my friends through it, but as the story rolled on my suspicions arose. These details were relayed by my friend from the girl in a comas partner.

1. She was hit by a car. (Thusday)
2. Shes in a coma and they dont know if she'll wake. (Thursday)
3. She had some fluid drained from her brain via her spine to relieve pressure. (thursday)
4. The doctors were in dispute one thought she might have cervical cancer and wake up, the other said she didn't and might die. (Friday)
5. the accident was deliberate and she was hit and went through a glass window, she people involved were arrested by the girls partner, who is ex military and put in a military prison. (friday)

From 5 onwards we were online when the information was revealed - me and another friend confronted her about the suspicions and then this happened an hour or two later, while we were still in the virtual world, the updates were from the girls partner, This was on saturday.

5. They said her brain was active but her body was slipping away. so my friend was asked to provide voice mails of support.
6 when my friend asked for a picture of the coma girl, in return, 15 minutes past and the girl had a seizure.
7. During the seizure a former army medic buddy of the partner showed up, diagnosed as some glass fragments pressing on the brain, operated and she should be awake by the end of the day.

At this point my friend was inline with us saying it was fishy and believing us.

Sunday was quiet, on Monday morning my time (midnight the coma girls time) i had an update that she was home, sore, housebound and had to rest, and my friend was now directly in contact with her and that it was all true as she had provided my friend a discharge sheet. This caused me and my friend to fall out as she is saying i used a moment where she was weak to turn her against this friend in the coma.

We talked today and are going to see where it goes, she maintains that her friends proof is indisputable. further updates are that they are going to sue the doctor for the cancer misdiagnosis. And that she actually had Destroyed ovaries before this accident so she could never get that cancer.

Im sure i made mistakes going to my friend without proof, but the story just twas so fantastic, and my friend 100% believes in it now, i obviously do not.

I don't know how to deal with it, to just blindly ignore it and be friends, and im even questioning myself, for questioning it all as my friend is that convinced. My friend even wants me to try to get on this with girl from the coma in this virtual world as they have known each other for 4 years.

i don't know what to do,

[Sunflower123]

Hello. Welcome to PC. Someone is pulling your leg in a big way. It's just not possible for all those things to happen that close together. Some of it doesn't even make sense. You need to distance yourself from this relationship.

[SecondTimearound201]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

Hello. Welcome to PC. Someone is pulling your leg in a big way. It's just not possible for all those things to happen that close together. Some of it doesn't even make sense. .

I know! i see that but i like this person and am afraid of leaving this friend with the person who is telling her all this.

You need to distance yourself from this relationship

I've definitely thought of walking away, but maybe im too stubborn for that...now im taking it with my friend day by day. But i don't know if there's anything i can do to make her see what everyone else i have spoke to about can see, it seems like she doesnt want to because this is her main friend in life.

This is one of the con's of the internet. She could be doing this due to a mental condition or underlying need. She could be doing it to troll because she's bored. She could have an ulterior motive.

And that's the other thing-you will never know the reason either, unless she confesses and shows proof of her true identity, ie Facebook. By continuing to be her friend and ignoring the lies, you are encouraging a behavior that is not acceptable and could potentially hurt a lot of people.

Give her an ultimatem...she either starts telling the truth or you're done.

[SecondTimearound201]

Originally Posted by iPhone

This is one of the con's of the internet. She could be doing this due to a mental condition or underlying need. She could be doing it to troll because she's bored. She could have an ulterior motive.

And that's the other thing-you will never know the reason either, unless she confesses and shows proof of her true identity, ie Facebook. By continuing to be her friend and ignoring the lies, you are encouraging a behavior that is not acceptable and could potentially hurt a lot of people.

Give her an ultimatem...she either starts telling the truth or you're done.

The thing is, is the person doing it, isn't my friend, it is My friends..friend (Yes i know how it sounds!). lets call her Y.

I have only talked to Y a few times, she really wouldn't care if i gave her that ultimatum. She would probably like it, as me saying that to her, she'd tell my friend knowing my friend would react badly. And thats probably what she wants, as it would drive a wedge between me and my friend) and the Y related incidents have increased since i became known to this Y person - coma is the 3rd in 3 weeks.

I want to get my friend away from this Y person, but she seems intent on believing the coma event happened simply because of a 'discharge' form. And vilifying us (its your fault, you are wrong, you are to blame) for trying to turn us again Y.

And i dont know how, if it is wise to just give her a digital slap in the face hitting her with all the facts trying to get her to see reason, or just to avoid the drama and walk away.

Thank you for the input guys, i appreciate it.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

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?