Is this for real or a scam?

I was just about to give up on online dating after almost getting scammed on a site called Casual Kiss. Then out of the blue another woman e-mails me, it looked authentic. She talked about herself and brought up her injured mother a few times. Recently she starting sending really long e-mails that rambled on about what she wants out of man, I thought she was being philisophical but the more I read the more it made no sense.It then just turned a long paragraph that just repeated the same information in varying ways. Then today I get an e-mail asking for money, to help with hospital bills. I told her no, but than I get an e-mail not three hours later, with her begging me too. I'm not one to give money to strangers, I'm just wondering if this is a common scam? Every bone in my body tells me it is because she asked me nothing about myself, even though I offered on many occasions. I also wish to know if anyone knows of any good free dating sites? I've tried a variety; Jazzed, Casual Kiss, Zoosk, Mate1, Okcupid, and PoF. Many thanks to anyone that can help me out.