Should I call APS on my disabled online friend?
I really don’t know where to start with this, but I’m going to keep things as private as possible. I have a disabled online friend well name Sarah. Sarah is chronically ill with a lot of different and debilitating conditions. She can’t work, drive or even shower/use the toilet with help sometimes. She’s a VERY sweet woman, and she’s my best friend. She mostly lives off disability benefits.
Recently, I found out her ex-wife (who I did not know was her ex-wife because Jade still acts like they’re a happy and perfect couple) and current caretaker, who we’ll name Jade hasn’t been treating her well. She lives with Jade and 2 other roommates, Jade is the only person in that house who can drive, the other roommates either don’t have a license or don’t feel like it very much. The way Sarah describes herself as ‘feeling miserable in that house’ and ‘neglected’ is very distressing. Every other day is a new story from her that I have a hard time wrapping my head around.
Sarah describes herself as feeling ‘financially held hostage’. Jade really likes edating, and spends most of her time at her desk with up to 5 other partners at a time chatting with folks across the country /overseas. Jade has always had a struggle remaining faithful and open about who and when and what and where she’s dating. Part of the reason Sarah and Jade are ex-wives is because Jade couldn’t remain faithful.
Jade often drops Sara off at her dads because she doesn’t have the ‘time or crayons’ to drive her to doctors appointments, and drops her off at her elderly father’s home so he can drive her to physical therapy, or when she’s feeling very sick so she doesn’t have to drive her to the ER/ provide more care and her dad can do it instead.
Sarah tells me that she feels miserable in Jade’s house because she’s so extremely isolated. She feels like she has to beg for food, or constantly remind Jade that she is in the house. Jade is really easily distracted by games and epartners so it’s hard for her to remember she has a whole other being and a service animal to take care of sometimes. Despite only being downstairs, Sara tries desperately to catch Jade’s undivided attention for food and bathroom help, where Jade either forgets or says she’ll ’do it later’ after hours pass.
And when Jade does do something, there is VERY minimal effort. Jade rolls her eyes like she’s a huge burden to carry, and in the same breath tells everyone she ‘has very little time because she’s a caretaker of a disabled person’ when the disabled person in question feels neglected, mentally and emotionally drained because if how she’s treated, and has NEVER ONCE been driven to a doctor’s appointment.
Here are some copy-pasted statements from Sarah
“I feel miserable at that house…she’s never there for me unless I beg her to the point of her begrudgingly complying…I thought I was lucky enough to have even that..”
“I wonder if she simultaneously thinks of me as a burden and a brownie points trophy because she has to deal with my disabled self”
“I feel like she’s (Jade) shunning me”
“She’s using me as a shield”
“She won’t even check the mailbox for the package I begged for. And now she won’t even bring or send it to me. I’m so stressed.”
“She’s not a caretaker. She just fancies herself as one. I had to go to my dad’s just to get my medical stuff taken care of”
“I’ve given up trying to beg her to help me with anything. She’s always too emotionally overwhelmed.”
“I really don’t know how to confront her about it, especially safely”
“She makes all this time for her e-partners, and never anything for me...not without complaining”
I’m so worried about her. She’s worried that if she stands up for herself, she’ll get kicked out of the house and that Jade will turn all her roommates against her. I hate seeing her go through this. No living person deserves this at all. She’s my best friend. What do I do? I know telling her that everything will be ok and listening to her daily struggles and offering solutions of self-soothing are helpful- but it doesn’t feel like enough. She really needs help. I don’t know what to do. She can’t live like this.
Posted Jul 9, 2025, 11:08 PM UTC