Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Responsibility

remorse (n) - "deep and painful regret for wrongdoing; compunction."
dictionary.com

***

Anti-social personality - Also called a psychopath, or a sociopath, this person is superficially charming and a habitual liar, has no regard for others, shows no remorse after hurting them, has no shame for behaving in an outrageously objectionable manner, and is unable to form relationships and take responsibility.
Dept. Social Services, Missouri

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"Many authors have also underscored the co-occurrence (or causal role?) of some pathological personality traits and/or disorders.

In this vein the acceptance and even search of "heavy" diagnostic and therapeutic procedures was related to masochistic traits.

Identity disturbance, unstable interpersonal relationships and recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behaviors are similar to those encountered in borderline personality disorder.

Deceitfulness, lack of remorse, reckless disregard for safety of self, repeated failure to sustain constant work behavior and failure to conform social norms are common features of factitious disorder and antisocial personality disorder."
http://andreisz.club.fr/Munchausen_genpres.html

***

"Pathological lying was originally defined as complex lies which are internally consistent, that may drag on for years and-- and this is the key point-- do not have an obvious purpose or gain. They are not lies told to self-aggrandize, or minimize guilt. They're not trying to con you into or out of anything. They're just making crap up."
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/03/pathological_liars.html

***

"Most definitions of lying refer to the deliberate communication of information believed to be false and intended to deceive (although terms such as "the whole truth" and being "economical with the truth" suggest that the inclusion of false information is not necessary to the concept of lying in its wider aspects). Thus, patients who communicate false information in the context of a range of psychiatric states, such as when they are confabulating, have delusional memory, or are demented, are not lying because they are not deliberately misleading us."
http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/33/3/350


In a previous post, we commented on a lack of remorse from Gina for those people hurt by "Pepe". Originally, this angered everyone here at DWT very much. It appears now that this might be part of Munchausen Syndrome, according to one common theory. Other theories discuss the connection between Munchausen and antisocial personality disorder.

Non-experts refer to Munchausen as the pathological liar's medically-diagnosed mental illness defense.

Regardless of what you call it, the outcome is bleak. There aren't medications/legal actions/therapies alone/magic words that will cure or stop this behavior. The only person who can stop it is Gina herself, with or without the help of what all the experts agree is "intense psychotherapy."

We received an email from a real-life friend of Gina's, letting us know that if Gina committed suicide because of our "witch hunt", she would hold us personally responsible. We were going to reply to her privately, but decided we needed to share our thoughts with anyone interested.

We find death threats, as well as suicide threats, unreasonable and childish, as we stated before.

With that laid out, we would like to point out we have not outed a private person. Gina, as Pepe, put her story out there for everyone to read. She approached other people, and she, through her own admission, went to Paul and others as "Blake" about raising funds to send "Pepe" a Wii while she was in the hospital.

In doing so, she has made herself a public figure - a celebrity of sorts. We are still debating whether she could be labeled a "general purpose" or "limited purpose" public figure. Since nothing we have said here is untrue or knowingly false, we haven't done anything wrong.

How you feel about us listing all facts in one convenient place, and allowing people to comment on them depends on who you are and how you learned about this - as a friend of Gina Fiorentino, or as a friend of "Pepe". The information in this blog is evidence-supported facts, and the facts are not nice, for either group involved.

Next, we would like to point out that Gina first appeared on the Internet as a girl with CF in 1997. Another person who knows Gina says that the police were involved, and the ACMEpet boards were permanently shut down because of this, which our research has confirmed. However, Gina was a minor, and nothing came from it.

Since then, we have three other known times that Gina was "outed" for her lies. But still, two years ago, Gina resurfaced as "Blake", then "Pepe", on the most current boards.

This is not a first-time offender. And this time, she pursued money and gifts. Obviously, were Gina going to get help on her own, she would have done it before "Pepe". We have no doubts that had "Friends of Pepe" successfully disappeared, Gina would have been on to her next victims. She was already found in the Tuberculosis rooms, as well as Asperger's rooms.

We were accused of contacting the people in Gina's life, her employers and whatnot, and of giving out her contact information. We assure you, we did no such thing. We supplied readers with her name, usernames, and the city she lived in. What they did with that information is beyond our control.

The people we contacted are listed in this blog - those personally affected by, or directly doing business with, Gina Fiorentino.

Gina is the only person capable of breaking the vicious cycles she has been building for the past decade. Will she? Who knows. At 25, we maintain that she is still young, and getting help now is a blessing in disguise.

We are all given one chance to live, and since Gina has been blessed with a perfectly healthy body, she has the opportunity to turn her life around and start living a full life she (and her family and friends) can be proud of when her time to leave does come.

68 comments:

mary lou said...

DWT said: How you feel about us listing all facts in one convenient place, and allowing people to comment on them...

This is a good idea. If someone is new to this blog, there's way too much to read on the comments, and a lot of it is opinion and speculation. I think you should make a list of info that has been proven to be fact about Gina AND Paul, and list the source even if it's not specific as to who (such as "e-mail to DWT from Gina's friend" and tell us how you know this person isn't pretending to know her.) Also, explain how you can verify that posted e-mails from Gina and Paul are really from them. Have you received any e-mails from people who actually know Paul personally, not just as an online acquaintance?

Karen said...

"We received an email from a real-life friend of Gina's, letting us know that if Gina committed suicide because of our "witch hunt", she would hold us personally responsible."

Is there supposed to be some sort of implication in this, that G has threatened suicide?

And does the real-life friend believe it?

As you said, the only one who can help G is G.

mary lou said...

I think she probably likes all of herselves enough not to commit suicide, but if Gina considered it, maybe her loving friend Blake would talk her out of it. Assuming Paul is innocent in all this, I hope he is emotionally strong enough to handle all this without a breakdown. I don't know him, so not that he would consider it, but if he committed suicide, Gina better think about who would be personally responsible for that.

Irene said...

And what if there are people out there who read FOP, who decided not to get a transplant because of all the pain and suffering that they read about Pepe having as a result of her transplant. If I recall there were several comments from people waiting for transplants who were devastated by the results of Pepe's transplant. If any one of those people declined a transplant because of what they read, then who is responsible for that readers premature death? I think Gina....

Chimera said...

I wondered if there could be some sort of liability with the info you're placing on this board.

This is a very sick person and while, yes, she hurt a LOT of people, she really does need some help.

There is a fine line between exposing her for the person she is and causing a mentally ill person to become worse.

I've gone back and forth as to whether Paul is innocent or not. Several things make me think he's not and many things make me think he is. If he is innocent, he must be completely devastated. This could not be good for his health. Gina should be held accountable for this.

I met my husband online 13 years ago. Before we met in person I felt like I really knew him. However, we both discovered that one can't really know someone until you can match the words with mannerisms and meet friends and family. Fortunately, he was everything he portrayed himself to be.

You just have to be careful. It's easy to feel like you can completely trust a person who you've been speaking with online.

Most people are wonderful and honest, but those few who are not, can do a lot of damage.

Sally said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hunt

"The term "witch-hunt" is often used to refer to similarly panic-induced searches for PERCEIVED wrong-doers other than witches."

There is nothing "perceived" about this - there ARE in fact, wrong-doers. Everyone is simply trying to determine who and how many. There is nothing wrong with outing the creeps. She/he/they brought it upon herself/himself/themselves.

And, assuming there is a real "Gina"...
"Her" threat of suicide is just another scam/ploy for undeserved sympathy and attention. IF "she" in fact becomes so distraught over this, "she" brought it upon herself, it's not any one's fault for calling "her" on it.

I've tried to commit suicide, and it is no one's responsibility but mine. It's not so-in-so's fault for doing this in my life, or so-in-so's fault for not doing that in my life. It's all on me.

Pigsooie said...

Dr. Phil

DustyDoodles said...

I've not commented prior on the whole Pepe/Gina thing, as I am more of a lurker. I will say I thought several posts of the FOP blog were suspect. Having had a sister who lived and died with CF, some things just didn't make sense. That said...

If someone is issuing suicide threats and does indeed commit suicide, it is no one's fault and no one is to blame outside of the person committing said act. DWT cannot, nor should not be held liable for someone's attempts at suicide. People who threaten and commit suicide are ill and no one pushes them over the edge, although at times it may feel or even look like it. If someone is going to commit suicide, they will do so whether they were outted for their lies or their Mother disciplined them. It's the way of the illness.

To the Cf'ers that have had to endure the pain of this whole ordeal. I am sorry you have had to go through this, it does not reflect upon you, nor your very serious and very real illnesses. I don't think anyone is that stupid to hold one person's sick, twisted lies against you. But I do understand how you feel you have been hurt and I feel for you. This whole ordeal will not stop me from supporting and being an organ donator, nor will my continued support of CF organizations be hampered.

GibsonTwins said...

If her friend truly believes that Gina will commit suicide, it is HER responsibility to report it prompty to anyone that will listen and is in a position to help (police, 911, hospital ER, etc). If she knows the info ahead of time, does not act on the information she was giving, then it is likely she could be in some hot water if Gina did try to harm herself.
But personally, I think its another attempt to bring the attention back to herself. Imagine that.

Sally said...

Yeah, imagine that... *rolls eyes*

Unknown said...

I have been following this website from the begining and followed FOP from the day it was mentioned on another blog.
My question that I don't understand, and maybe one of you, or PAUL could answer to clear up.
With all the pictures that were on the CF community with "Gina" and her and her horse and then the 2 very different pictures that were on the front page of her FOP blog, How could he think that was the same person? Did Paul know Gina/Pepe to be that person in the picture? When Paul talked to Pepe, did he think he was talking to the girl in the picture on the blog or did he know her to be the person with the horses?
Does anyone know the answer to that?

Anonymous said...

Lauren, that's a great question!

DownWiththeTrolls said...

As far as we know, everyone from the CF community knew Gina as the picture of her friend. No one knew her as the woman on the horse.

DownWiththeTrolls said...

We have received emails from relatives and friends of Paul who know him in real life. They are in support of his story, and some of them have said they have talked to Pepe on the phone while visiting with him.

DownWiththeTrolls said...

Or are you referring to the picture of SS, the young lady who passed away, and the picture of Gina's friend not looking alike?

She used those on two separate boards. The picture of SS she used on an AOL board about pets - nothing related to CF at all.

The picture of her friend she used for the CF forums and with CF friends.

Pigsooie said...

Wonder how the search for a psychiatrist is coming? I'm sure Fairview has a very reputable staff that could help with her problems. Especially if she is suicidal. Her friend should contact her doctor immediately, at the very least, let her family know. They might now even know what has transgressed over the last few days.
I'm sure she feels trapped and is in need of major help and support.
She will be in my prayers because no matter what, no human deserves to feel such utter despair.
I've had a friend commit suicide and it's not a matter to take lightly.
I prayed for her last month and I'll continue to pray for her this month. I might have been praying for a disease that didn't exist, but God knew my intentions were sincere.
Maybe it's time to let it go and move on. It's easy to get caught up even deeper and lose sight of our own very real lives.
I'm done and wish everyone the best.

Chimera said...

How do you know that the emails you are getting are really from a friend/relative of Paul or Gina. This could go on and on until you find a way to confirm with whom you're talking.

Unknown said...

Thanks DWT! That helps. I was under the impression that the CF community knew "Pepe" as the girl w/ the horses.
Has Paul mentioned to anyone if he ever sent her something at Fairview Hospital or called her there? Also, where did he send the wii too? Did he send it to "Blake" who was then "supposed" to give it to "pepe"?
There are just so many unanswered questions. I don't doubt Paul's story, I just wonder if at ANY time in the furthest part of his mind, in his heart of hearts, did he for a minute question her or anything? Something that didn't add up to him or make sense with all the previous med history he went thru?

Karen said...

Chimera,
You are right, of course, for a "normal" person--my personal feeling is that this so-called suicide threat is only the latest in the list of conditions that she has used and will use to get attention or for whatever reason she has done all these things. There are at least ten years' worth of made-up illnesses so I am not too impressed with this one.

The biggest thing is, IMO, to let as many people as possible know that she is a fake! Evidently she has torn apart other communities, and certainly has devastated this one, so this is a pretty effective way to stop her--hopefully. Not for her sake, but for the sake of others who can be hurt--like Paul.

Meg said...

My God, this woman's constant self-victimization never ends. Now she's claiming to be suicidal because of the fact that she got caught sinisterly lying to hundreds of thousands of people?!

To Gina, since I'm damn positive that you're reading these comments:

My husband has Cystic Fibrosis. Unlike Pepe, he's a real person, with a real disease. He throws up every morning, coughs until his eyes are red, and is so underweight that I can fit his bicep in the palm of my hand.

I read your blog everyday, hoping that 'Pepe' was finally doing better. When her story started to get tumultuous, my husband got word that he was about to embark on the long journey of a double-lung transplant. Reading your lies filled me with absolute dread.

You did this to yourself. You need to stop blaming others for your own sniveling and insipid actions. You deserve any derogatory comments directed at you, and then some.

You'll get no pity from me.

Unknown said...

a witch hunt is being accused of something you didnt do yet are blamed. She fessed up to it so this is no witch hunt . Im seriously gonna stop reading this, to me its nothing more than another elaberate hoax so she can get off her jollies . i have contacted authorities and news centers all around the US and the BBC , since the net is world wide and i do know a few Britts that have followed this , its an international scam and the perpitraitors need to be punished. im sure she/he/it gets a good laugh reading all of this so im not going to enable their assholeism

Anonymous said...

To get media attention the best place to start would be the local newspaper serving the area of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. I think most national stories start at a local level. There should be plenty of interest in that area since this whole fake hospital stay supposedly happened there.

Emmie said...

"and since Gina has been blessed with a perfectly healthy body, she has the opportunity to turn her life around"

Are you aware that the "body" includes the brain? I have only been reading this blog for a few days but already I can see that Gina is most definitely not perfectly healthy! In fact I would say that it's pretty clear that she is either suffering from severe hypochondria or from Munchausens disorder.

You also stated in a previous post that "she lacked an essential part of being a human being". Are you God? Do you have a right to judge others? Clearly you are perfect yourself as you are able to judge and criticise with such statements about someone you admit you don't know and have never met.

Whilst I undertsand the need to uncover the truth so that people understand what has happened and can move on, I really do feel the continuous condemnation and judgements issued on this unknown person are becoming distasteful.

None of us know Gina or what she has been through in her life or how ill she is mentally. If she's not at a stage where she recognises her problems and is able to get help for them, then I seriously doubt that your continual condemnation is going to help.

No doubt I'll be accused of being a friend of this mystery "Gina" now or being suspicious because I'm questioning this blog, which is a shame because I'm simply an individual (with CF) over the other side of the world who has an opinion.

CFTXx2mom said...

I don't want to make anyone sad by bringing this up, but is there a chat room or blog that you know about that is specifically for family members of those who died from CF? I have wanted support but I don't want to go into CF chat rooms and bring everyone down. It should probably be totally separate. If there's not a chat room or blog like this I would like to start one. Thanks and God bless!

Chimera said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. Given the circumstances of what's happening on this blog, I'm sure someone would love to refer you to the appropriate site. Please give your email.

Thanks

Droll said...

"...it's pretty clear that she is either suffering from severe hypochondria or from Munchausens disorder."

I know things have died down here, as a lot of people have moved on, but I'm really surprised nobody has mentioned that there is a clear difference between hypochondria and Munchausens. Hypochondria is the inherent fear of illness and non-stop search of something wrong with oneself. Gina Fiorentino is a chronic liar. There is no way her search for her own physical illness came up with anything even close to her epic story of CF, illness, miraculous recovery, illness again, etc.

Shari said...

I wonder if this poor girl is a schizophrenic. Her family needs to know what is happening in order to protect her from herself--that may be a real concern. It is easy to discount threats, but they could be real. She is not well.

KM said...

This has gone beyond crazy. FOP was written by Paul - and it was a very good piece of fiction, too. The most likely scenario is that Gina and Paul were full collaborators. The second most likely senario is that Paul was the mastermind behind it. There is NO scenario that I can come up with that leaves either one of them INNOCENT. This DWT's blog is a very clumsy attempt to blame shift and cover Paul's hind-end.

DownWiththeTrolls said...

KM - that's a popular scenario, and maybe you're right. As it stands right now, we don't have anything on Paul. We've even had a poster say they had proof, but they never came forward.

If you find something, or someone, to back that up, please let us know.

As of now, all we and everyone else who has looked for the past week have is evidence on Gina.

Anonymous said...

Question: Who is the girl holding the dog in FOP blog?

Jess said...

Since I don't know of any other way of contacting you, cftxx2mom (unless...are you Kari's mom?) please e-mail me at jessica.fadness@gmail.com. There is a group I would like to refer you to, whose members are mostly mothers who have lost their children to CF. I don't want to post it here for fear of it getting trolled, too.

I am sorry for your loss.

Emmie said...

"I'm really surprised nobody has mentioned that there is a clear difference between hypochondria and Munchausens."

Hi Droll, you're absolutely right and as soon as I got off the computer I realised that there's no way Gina could have hypochondria as she didn't believe she was ill.

It's got to be some psychological disorder like Munchausens (where people illness to get the attention they crave).

What I don't understand is the detail that went into the blog - even statistics about carbon dioxide levels etc. Surely if Gina didn't have CF or medical training she couldn't have given so much detailed information on her own?

Debs said...

Did it not occur to anyone that CFTXx2mom could be Gina/Pepe/Blake/Paul planning another bid for sympathy?
This has certainly made me cynical!

Unknown said...

Did Paul embellish the story? Meaning, if "Blake" emailed/text Paul "Gina's" updates did she put all those details in there or did Paul "add" to it to make it more of a heart wrenching story to get the readers to come back day after day? I agree with previous posters about all those details. And if "pepe" was supposedly intubated during some of these updates and "blake" or "pepe's" supposed mom weren't at the bedside, how did Paul think "Blake" got all that info. Due to HIPPA laws, they would not release ALL that infor to "Blake"? Man, all these unanswered questions!!

Jess said...

Debbie,

I was concerned about that too, to be honest. But, she e-mailed me a link to her child's transplant page (which I will not post here out of respect for her privacy) and seems completely legitimate.

Although I wouldn't put it past Gina/Pepe/Blake whomever to fake being a grieving mother, I doubt very much that she'd turn to the comments section of the page that had exposed her to find a new website to troll. I'm sure she's at least craftier than that (she had us fooled, after all) and it's not that hard to find grief support websites.

I have referred her to a grief support group that I hope will bring her some comfort.

Jess aka "AllansGirl"

serratiasue said...

[OT]

Jessica, hi! I was hoping I would "see" you again in cyberspace. I hope you are doing well. I posted a few times as "Serratia" on your website a few years ago and have thought of you often in the intervening years.

Take care, and *hugs* :)

[/OT]

Pigsooie said...

The writing style of FOP and DWT are very similar.
Sounds like the same author.

Pigsooie said...

How in the world would Paul have the details of every procedure and every event that happened? Who takes such detailed information?
I don't even know that medical charts are that extensive.

Sally said...

My husband and I have trouble recalling the chain of events that happened to me in the hospital in ONE day, recently. So many details in the story did baffle me.

However, I will say this.
Paul himself did refund a donate made by a friend of mine.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Sally and My3sonsmom,

That's exactly my question. I asked that a few days ago...

Anyone have any ideas???????????

Betsy said...

I think some of you are forgetting that the original readers of the FOP blog were adult CFers. What you refer to as "the details" are the numbers (like FEV1) that adult CFers keep track of all of the time - chat about every night.

One's health is determined by these numbers. Any adult CFer knows their numbers and shares them with others.

In my case I knew those numbers cold when my late husband was alive. When he was hospitalized I actually would note them down so I could relay them to others in the family on the nightly update. Others in the family (some with CF themselves, others respiratory therapists and nurses) knew what they meant as well.

As Paul was thinking that he was getting updates from people with CF (Gina/Pepe and Blake) he would not be surprised to be given numbers in an update - and, of course, would relay them to adult CFers reading the blog.

FYI. I also had my donation credited to my Paypal balance

Carie said...

Gina would get on the phone and describe stuff that had happened, or email it to Paul. Also, Gina would pretend to be Blake, and Blake would contact Paul with the information. Paul has stated previously that when she didn't know the exact terms for stuff....she would describe stuff, he would recognize what she's talking from his own experiences...and he would fill in that information, the correct names/medical terms, etc., for her when he was posting the update on the blog.

It's been detailed several times, but is probably deep in the comments of other posts now.

Unknown said...

As a nurse, I don't think I have ever given my patients that detailed of a report. I know some family members that write everything down, but I would almost bet they wouldn't be able to then translate it to someone else the way it was in FOP. I understand that CF pts have frequent hospital stays, so they do become familiar with IV meds and tx plans.
I just don't think Pepe/Gina would know all the details (when intubated, medicated and hallucinating), down to specific IV antibiotics given for CF related illnesses/treatments.
I don't think someone without going through it first hand, having a family member or someone in the medical field being able to know those things. I have a hard time believing that Gina would know, "Oh, that IV med or that specific tx goes with CF" or CF related complications.

Betsy said...

I would also like to "second" what emmie says in her comment to this blog entry. The mind is part of the body. Gina obviously is not completely healthy, but instead is obviously mentally ill.

I sincerely hope she gets into treatment to heal her mind.

Until she is healed, however, it is futile to expect her to have the kind of remorse or show the kind of responsibility that you are hoping and asking for.

Knowing this I find it personally more useful to see her actions that are a symptom of her illness -- and to forgive her -- if it is even reasonable to say that someone who is ill actually needs forgiveness.

What she probably needs is to have her immediate family use all of their persuasion (including tough love) to get her into treatment.

I hold all of my adult CF friends who have suffered because of her actions in my heart.

I am also holding Gina in my heart.

Unknown said...

Thanks betsy and carieelena! That answers alot of my questions. It helps to be able to understand from the CF prespective, something that I don't have and appreciate y'all sharing to help me to learn!

DownWiththeTrolls said...

You're right - the mind IS part of the body. But we were drawing a parallel to the fact that she is healthy physically, and indeed not dying of CF.

*Saddened* said...

This was posted earlier today by Q(Paul)indicating that all money has been returned to each donor.

Thu Aug 21 2008, 04:22PM

Registered Member #218
Joined: Mon Jun 30 2008, 07:55PM
Posts: 13
G's check did clear. All donations have been returned. Please check the email address you used when sending your contribution. The process for redeeming your refund will be explained there. If problems still exist, please PM.

Many of you wished that your donations be sent to charities. For various reasons, this was not tenable. Still, I hope that if it was your desire, you will still send your refund to whatever trustworthy cause you choose so that some practical good can come of this mess. An equally important though unquantifiable good is already apparent. As I sent back your payments, I was again struck by the pure generosity, which we've witnessed many times in this community. Your charity was not in vain, even if G was phony. All goodness has its own merit. At least I believe that.

Thanks again.

Millicent said...

I have been following this blog after finding out that FOP was fake. I have commented once before and since just be reading this all. Many of you question how Paul couldn't have known it was a fake. And something occurred to me yesterday (forgive me if this has already been mentioned). Paul is in his early 40's right? Pepe (Gina) is 25 and in her (fake) photo, very attractive. Could Paul have been blinded by the thoughts of having such an attractive young women interested in him and relying on him? Many men enjoy being the "knight in shining armor". Maybe being so sick himself and possibly feeling kinda emasculated, his 'role' helping Pepe made him feel better? Just a thought, am interested in Paul's thoughts. Also she comments she didn't want to lose Paul and called him her BF, where they actually together at all? I know they never met, but in a cyber space relationship?

Lastly a comment from another previously blog struck a chord with me. The one about the 2 pics on the blog and how a reader was always bugged by how they didn't seem to be the same girl. I often thought the same thing. I would often say to myself I wish she would lift her head a little higher (in the dog photo) so I can tell. Bugged me, but like the other reader I always let it go. I just figured I was being overly suspicious.

Anonymous said...

When talking about "details", I (personally) wasn't referring to just FEV's. I'm talking about certain medications and procedures that VERY few people would know about. Just they way the FOP was writted...it almost seemed like it was a first person account (just my opinion - not pointing fingers) But if she's explaining and Paul's "filling in", I guess that's one explaination. Don't know if I buy it...but...thanks to "Gina"...I've leary of a lot now.

One question. Why is Gina not coming on the boards herself to announce the fund have been repaid? Why is Paul doing it?

Anonymous said...

Sorry..."written", not "writted"

kgirl said...

Millicent...have you looked at Paul's clamshellmuni site? If you have and have listened to his song for "Pepe" I think you can tell how "taken" he was by this girl. Gina probably could have convinced him of anything.

curecfnow...wasn't it Paul's Paypal account that the funds were sent to? Maybe that's why he's announcing that the funds have been repaid?

Millicent said...

On the topic of the picture of the girl and dog. I am almost 100% certain the dog in the photo is a shiba inu. Do we know the exact pet board she was visiting? Is it possible to see if the girl from the photo is from there? Maybe someone would recognise them. Shiba's aren't that common.

Millicent said...

kgirl, no I hadn't. But by the sounds of what you are saying, my theory could be right...

kgirl said...

Millicent....Yep, your theory could be very right! :-)

Celine said...

Yes, the Nancybratt site

www.xanga.com/nancybratt is almost certainly a fake or at least highly exaggerated. Among other troubling details, her mother recently says "she was diagnosed with chrones when she was 12." Does this mean she supposedly has "Crohn's?" This is a serious, lifelong illness calling for surgeries and medication. "Nancy" herself does not even allude to this, and I don't believe it's mentioned elsewhere. Not a disease to be taken lightly. What can be done about this?

Celine said...

...as for the "nancybratt" site, "Chrones" (Crohn's) is mentioned by "Nancy" herself in 2006 with regard to a friend. I find it suspicious that the misspelling is the same for "Nancy" and her "mother."

Gary and Nanny

Well I can finally breathe. Melissa made it through her surgery okay. She remains in ICU, and I have been with her for awhile. She had stopped taking her Chrones medicine and I was *so* angry with her. But after seeing her, I couldnt be angry anymore. I am going back to ST Peters tomorrow to visit her again.

Please God, please pull her through this. I cant do this without her. She is such a gift to all of us. And is the last person to deserve this. Please make her okay.

I've had no time to do anything these passed 2 days. The nurse said I am down a pound. I cant help it. I am depleted of all energy, emotions and tears. I'ts been a hard week. And I'm doing my best to remember God is here.

And for now, I just need to breathe. Just breathe.

Pigsooie said...

My niece has Chron's and right now it is in remission. She still has to take medication and just recently had to have a bowl resection and was on all kinds of medications, i.v., etc. She can't eat fiber.
I would think if Nanny really had
Chron's, it would be mentioned since Chron's affects the diet so much and she is "anorexic/bulemic" or whatever. The site is bizarre.
They make it sound like she's the Madonna. They seem to dwell on death and nothing else.
My vote is that it's a scam.
Makes me sick. Get a freakin' job like the rest of us and quit dwelling on what a crummy deal you have!

Pigsooie said...

And since I'm being insensitive, here's one more for "Nanny". Clean your house! With all the people hanging aroudn all day, surely someone could clean up.

Emmie said...

I'm in my 30's with CF and have a very in-depth knowledge of every aspect of my care - the bugs I grow, the percentages of my lung function results each time, my oxygen saturation fluctuations, all the scientific background to my health and treatments, etc.

However, the detail that went into the FOP site seems to be so medical and specific that all I can say is Gina must have a degree in medicine! There are details on tension pneumothoraces, pulmonary edema, cardiac cathetarization, detailed PACO2 stats, bronchoscopies, abscesses, details of specific drugs, etc.

Did Gina or "Blake" relay all these specific details during each phone call? How did someone who doesn't have CF or medical training know such specific information? Puzzling!

Chimera said...

Someone who's done a lot of research for his/her book and thought that adding those details would look more believable.

Or ...

Someone who has Munchausen, for these people are very knowledgeable of medical conditions.

Anonymous said...

People here seem to be forgetting that Gina has been pretending/researching CF for many years (10?). That can easily explain how she knew so much, especially with how much info is out on the internet now days.

Pigsooie said...

Does Gina have a real job?
I can't imagine she has the time.
Anybody know?

Anonymous said...

Plus I seem to recall reading from other cfers who'd had transplants that her supposed transplant experience was eerily similar to theirs. All she'd have to do would be to hang out on various cf boards, chat rooms and carepage sites devoted to someone's tranplant.

I just wonder what she's doing with all her spare time these days. She devote HOURS to her personas and I can't believe she'd sit idly by. She's gotta be lurking somewhere, developing a new character.

Karen said...

my3sonsmom:

get this--Gina works at a bank!!!!

the wife said...

DWT,
Any word yet from the authorities you report the Gina fraud to?

the wife said...

Whoops, meant to say "reported"

Anonymous said...

I know this post was over a year ago, I have a comment. Regarding My3SonsMom's & Celine's comments about Nancybratt, you need to do your research. When her mom posts, she misspells words. Nancy is now in hospice care at home. She has stopped all treatments because of blood infections all the time. They are just keeping her comfortable with pain meds now. She had a 2nd heart attack in August & drs. can do no more for her. For people who think she is a fake or a fraud, how can someone put a tube down into their stomach or chest, etc. Pics show how sick she is.
My3SonsMom says .....
"Makes me sick. Get a freakin' job like the rest of us and quit dwelling on what a crummy deal you have!"
Maybe one of these days if you ever are terminally ill, I hope that comment sticks in your head.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe there are such grossly insensitive people who would dare to make such remarks without having their facts straight.

Nancy is no fake. In fact, she is a friend who tries her hardest to help anybody else who experiences eating disorders, etc.
Also, the misspelling is no 'proof' of a fraud. Crohn's may not be mentioned chiefly, but then there is way too much else going on in Nancy's situation at once to single out one disease.
Have a heart, why don't ya, instead of looking for stuff to condemn. Do you see those other fingers pointing back at you??