Deborah Pound had been married for 40 years before her husband, Shawn, passed away.
In 2010, he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. They were told that the only cure was for Shawn to receive a bilateral lung transplant. Fortunately, they just happened to live near Mayo Clinic and he was immediately placed on a transplant list. As his condition worsened, he was bumped up the list. Shawn received his new lungs in 2011.
As time went on he got somewhat complacent regarding the health regiment that would help prolong his life. He also developed complications as a result of the medications he needed to take. About four years after the initial transplant, his body began rejecting the lungs, so he was once again put on the transplant list.
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While waiting, he suffered respiratory arrest and Deborah had to perform CPR on her husband. He recovered but needed to be on a ventilator, especially at night. He received another set of lungs in 2013.
All of his life, Shawn had been an outdoorsman, making him more susceptible to skin cancer. After receiving treatment for skin cancer, it was determined that he had fourth stage melanoma. Shawn passed away in 2017.
“After that happened, I was basically in a fog,” said Deborah. After about nine months, she began dating. She went on a dating site and shortly thereafter, she was scammed by an individual. At the time, she believed him to be genuine, and his profile looked very real.
After a period of time, the self-proclaimed architect began asking for money.
He claimed his job had sent him to Malaysia and while there, he excavated some land and found a large amount of gold. He told Deborah he was being held and couldn’t return to the U.S. until he paid a large sum of money in taxes, which he didn’t have.
The big-hearted lady wired her new friend money several times totaling about $250,000. Her banking establishment got suspicious and closed her account down. Her family was so concerned that Deborah filed a police report and ended the online relationship. “It was just so humiliating,” she said.
Her youngest daughter wrote into a talk show called Face the Truth, which was hosted by Vivica A. Fox. Deborah was flown to Hollywood, Calif., to tell her story to the viewers.
“It was so embarrassing,” she said. “They basically interrogated me.”
For her participation in the program, she was given about 10 counseling sessions. After the show, she went back home and continued her work as a nurse, moving on with her life.
After a period of time, she decided to try online dating once again but with a bit more caution. She met a man who has been her husband for three years now. She and Gary Hall who is retired from the railroad, are very happy. “He is honest to a fault, hardworking and a good cook. I could go on and on,” Pound said of her husband.
Deborah is retired after 44 years and enjoys working puzzles, gardening, camping and decorating. Her favorite color is yellow and she likes daffodils. She has two grown daughters, and the happy couple share 14 grandchildren between them. They also enjoy their pet dog, Maverick.
Looking back on her experience with online dating and the scam that resulted, she realizes that there were some red flags. Her advice to others is “Always meet the individual in person, never divulge personal banking information or a social security number and never send money,” she said.
She has forgiven the scammer but will never forget how difficult he made her life for a period of time.