A local bank employee and a Marion County sheriff’s deputy teamed up Wednesday to help an 84-year-old man who was disoriented.
The sheriff’s deputy was called to the Citizens First Bank branch at 8590 SE 165th Mulberry Lane shortly before 11 a.m. He then spoke with an employee who said the man, whose son and daughter-in-law live in Spring Harbor Village, seemed to be showing symptoms of dementia and she was afraid to let him leave by himself.
The deputy spoke with the man, who lives in Salt Springs, and he was unable to provide answers to basic questions, such as the president of the United States, the present month and year and where he resides. The man said he had stopped at the bank to request directions on how to return to his home, a sheriff’s office report states.
The man told the deputy he had eaten breakfast earlier and was feeling good, but he couldn’t seem to remember a lot of things, the report says.
The deputy spoke with the man’s daughter-in-law, who said she wasn’t aware of him being diagnosed with any kind of issue. She said he had expressed some signs of memory loss in the past but had not been further evaluated. And she added that the man lives alone and his 52-year-old son has power of attorney for him, the report says.
A Marion County Fire Rescue paramedic performed an evaluation on the man and recommended he be transported to The Villages Regional Hospital for further medical treatment. The deputy spoke with man’s daughter-in-law a second time as she was en route to the bank and steered her to the hospital. And he explained the benefits the sheriff’s office offers regarding dementia/Alzheimer’s patients, the report says.