Sounds like something beyond her control. Health and therefore employment? So her credit score is ruined. Then what? Not much as far as I can see aside from not being able to get a new loan to buy a house or a car.
About 2 years after I split with my ex a debt collector called me because she borrowed about $70,000 to start her own business and it failed (My mobile number was listed at the time). They told me she just stopped paying the loan and they wanted me to honor her debt. I told them we were divorced, she has a boy friend and they live in another state but they still tried to push me to pay her debt... Idiots!