LANSING, MIch. — A new report shows just one-in-seven seniors get regular assessments by their doctor for memory issues.
It's just one of the highlights in an annual report released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association.
It also finds Michigan is the fifth-highest in the nation for Alzheimer's-related deaths.
FOX 47's Cryss Walker sat down with a Mid-Michigan woman who is struggling to get her mother the help she needs.
Sharp, witty and full of life, that’s how Courtney Holts describes her mother Lula Bell Holts.
The 84-year-old is a farmer and a pillar of the community.
“She is full of joy”, Courtney said.
“Always willing to help someone, the mother of the church. People go to her all the time for advice.”
Lula bell is known for her bold personality, but changes in her behavior left her daughter feeling concerned.
“She called me and she said, ‘Courtney, where am I?’…” said the 26-year-old expecting mother.
“I said, ma that's not funny, what do you mean? She said ‘no... I'm for real. Where am I?’... I said mom you're at home.”
Courtney and her siblings contacted their mother's physician and was shocked by her diagnosis.
“You gave a diagnosis of dementia to someone with dementia and you sent them away with what?” Courtney said.
“Any information? Any medication? She's still driving. She's getting lost.”
Courtney and her family is now working to get used to their new normal.
They’re becoming caregivers, taking care of the woman, who once took care of them.
Currently 190,000 people living with Alzheimer's disease in Michigan.
