Coming up on Southwest Florida in Focus, a deeply personal journey.

We hear from a southwest Floridian living with Alzheimer's and talk about the importance of early screenings and support.

And business owners on Fort Myers Beach feel the pressure to move out of those metal containers.

Town leaders want the structures off the island so they can try to restore the discount that the community lost for federal flood insurance.

These stories and more.

Next on WGCU You're watching southwest Florida InFocus.

Coming up.

Transforming cancer care in southwest Florida.

A groundbreaking proton therapy machine arrives in a sterile, promising, more advanced radiation treatment and new hope for cancer patients.

Time is running out for Fort Myers Beach business owners to get out of those metal containers.

FEMA says these structures are a hazard, and part of the reason why the community lost its discount on federal flood insurance and forgetfulness, or something more.

We talked to experts about when memory lapses could signal Alzheimer's and who should consider getting screened.

Hello?

I'm Sandra Victorova Thank you very much for joining us.

Well, Fort Myers Beach residents are frustrated that they'll lose their current discounts on flood insurance policies next year.

The federal government took away the community's 25% discount on policy premiums because FEMA says the town has failed to sufficiently prepare for future storms since Hurricane Ian.

One of the problems large metal containers brought in after the 2022 storm are still used for storage or to operate businesses.

Out of now, the people who depend on those containers for their financial survival are debating what to do next.

Happy customers spending money on Fort Myers Beach.

While the last few weeks have been great business, returning to La Ola Restaurant should have owner Tom Houghton celebrating.

Instead, he is stressing about his family's financial future.

This year we have four teenage boys between us.

I've got a lot to worry about and a lot of people that are relying on me.

The town says his containers, which he's operated his business out of for about two years now, have to go.

Hurricane Ian destroyed the original restaurant.

The town says Houghton's landlord is violating code by allowing the temporary structures to stay this long.

The La Ola case has been sent to a judge at the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings.

The square has not been developed one iota since.

It's going to be 2030 before the pier is built.

In my opinion, we should be the last ones to redevelop for providing a lot of public benefit.

You know, you got smiles on faces, people walking by.

Listening to live music, providing the public bathrooms a place to eat.

All of that.

And if I'm gone, probably a lot of the other little businesses right around me won't be able to survive either.

Because it won't be won't be driving the traffic to the area.

I don't know.

I'll go through and look again and change clothes and stuff.

Nearby, Graham Belger worries about the future of his business as well.

He says the goods hardware store is critical to rebuilding Fort Myers Beach.

It's a big deal to have this on the island, where people don't have to go into town to deal with traffic and two hours later come back with a couple screws or whatever it may be.

Belger, a father to two, is trying to rebuild after Ian destroyed his two stores.

A friend has allowed him to set up his container on her empty lot.

It's my livelihood.

It meant a lot.

You know.

I have to support my family.

So it was everything to me.

Jacquie Lee Zach, the lot owner, is also president of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce.

She faces the possibility of $250 daily fines, but hasn't asked Belger to leave.

I feel strongly about this, and so I'm willing to take that risk.

But yes, I'm worried about it because every $250 I have to pay for a fine is $250 less that I can put into my building.

And that's kind of crazy to me.

Here's the store.

This is the ramp.

Lezak owned the Sea Gypsy until the historic wood in was washed away by Ian.

She and others say FEMA has left their town leaders in an impossible situation.

They either rush business owners out of their temporary structures or leave the whole community footing a higher insurance bill.

It's a shame that we're being held to almost a hostage with the discount rate on the flood insurance.

You'll find violators across the island, from homeowners to construction companies, even the town itself.

It's been running town government out of containers.

FEMA wants the town hall to get up and leave.

Well, how are we going to run a town if we have nowhere to run it out of town?

Leaders hope to avoid ending up in front of a magistrate by moving into a new town hall building soon and getting town officials to drop the case against itself.

We hope to be able to have the trailers ready to go, so we talk to the magistrate.

We say we would like, you know, request week to withdrawal.

Well, business owners say they understand FEMA's concerns about the containers being a potential flood hazard.

They say the federal government doesn't understand the enormity of the logistical and financial obstacles in rebuilding permanent structures here.

Lezak says her story is a perfect example.

Her small lot makes it tough to comply with standards set by the town, the state and the federal governments.

We're a very old community.

Many of the lots here are not standard size.

Lots by any means.

Most of them aren't even any kind of a normal shape.

My hotel was four rooms and a gift shop.

If I put a $3 million building up because that's what it's going to cost to get it up high enough, you know, in elevators, Ada, bigger bathrooms, bigger this that, the whole nine yards concrete, the whole thing.

Four rooms in a gift shop.

Couldn't make the mortgage, couldn't do it.

I'd have to ask for ten or 12 or 15 rooms, which means I have to go really high to squeeze all those rooms in.

And we have a height restriction of three floors.

I am a sole proprietor.

I've gotten no support financially from anybody, so I've exhausted all my resources.

As for Houghton, he created a social media video trying to convince anyone who would listen.

That is, containers should be allowed.

He says they can be evacuated quickly.

Explain how the shipping containers can be removed quickly and efficiently in the event of a hurricane.

I personally believe this should be the model that CMI should use.

As to what we should have in these critical flood zones, you know where you need to be able to evacuate anything that's not 15ft up in the air.

Otherwise, what ends up happening is everyone gets priced out of the market.

You end up having to put a $4 million building on top of this property.

It's going to be a totally different culture here on the beach.

If we only allow these mega million dollar properties in the area.

But FEMA regulations say structures like this need to be able to be evacuated by lightweight pickup trucks.

For now, Houghton's best shot appears to be negotiating with the town to see if they'll let him stay through season and give him time to try to find a permanent home for his business.

When you drive over that bridge, it's easy to fall in love.

This is where I want to be every day.

So if I do say, you know.

A spokesperson for the town of Fort Myers Beach and for FEMA declined our request for interviews.

In a statement, FEMA said it will continue to provide technical assistance to Fort Myers Beach to meet the standards and potentially end its probation status.

It will be at least two years before FEMA reconsiders the town status.

As for the potential fines to individuals.

A judge would have to rule on those cases before those fines would be imposed.

Well, coming up on Southwest Florida in focus.

Big changes for Fgcu women's basketball.

Legendary coach Karl Smesko is off to the WNBA and a former player is taking the reins.

How she plans to continue the Eagles winning legacy.

That story next on WGCU.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 6 million Americans.

And early detection can be a game changer.

We bring you the story of a local woman living with Alzheimer's who shares her hopes, alongside a volunteer from the Alzheimer's Association, working to raise awareness about the importance of screenings.

Together, they highlight why catching the disease early could make all the difference.

Joining me now is Fort Myers resident Lee Belanger, who is living with Alzheimer, and Amy Schenk, an Alzheimer's Association volunteer.

Ladies, thank you both.

Thank you so much for having us.

We're very glad to be here.

So, Lee, I was going to ask you how you're doing.

What?

You're obviously doing great.

Which is why I'm so excited that you're here, because I think we all have a perception about what Alzheimer's patients look like.

So maybe you could start with, you know, in sharing your story, how you're doing now.

But as well as how life has changed for you since your diagnosis.

Well, I'm very happy that I was diagnosed, first of all, because I was diagnosed very early, which means that it gives me some time to have quality time and to do the things that I know will slow down Alzheimer's.

And it's making my life much more enjoyable as a result.

So, so many exciting, I'll say news in the area of research and trials.

Can you tell us, you know, how significant is what as far as what we're seeing in the clinical trials, in these investigations?

It's an important time right now in this research.

Right.

You know, it absolutely is.

And particularly with nearly 7 million people in the United States who are living with Alzheimer's.

This is a very exciting time in Alzheimer's research.

So just a couple updates.

There are two medications that are currently available.

They've been approved by the FDA.

And what they've been shown to do is to be helpful for people who are in what we call the early clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease, as well as mild cognitive impairment.

That is a significant change because before they were available, we didn't have any any medications or approaches that were considered disease modifying and disease modifying, if you think of it.

It changes the trajectory of the disease.

And in this case, it slows it down.

So that's very exciting.

And it's also very exciting that when those two medications and their names are alike can be to summa.

When they were in the research studies, they were actually in research studies at research studies or centers here in Southwest Florida.

So you were really passionate about being part of that clinical trial.

What is the process been like for you?

Well, it's just been amazing because first of all, I was diagnosed because I went to the Neuropsychiatric Research Center here in Southwest Florida.

We're so blessed to have that facility because they do clinical trials on Alzheimer's.

And that's the number one dementia that we're seeing throughout the world.

So what I did was I had gone to a talk that they had given at Shell Point where I live, and I heard that they did these, clinical trials.

But before they even thought about that, they were talking about early memory screening.

And I said, well, I really should go, because the other day I just had an incident where I couldn't remember how to start my Instant Pot.

And I said, this is not right.

I've had this incident for three years, so I really should get a memory check.

Wow.

So I went to the Neuropsychiatric Memories check.

And it was probably, I don't know, they didn't tell me what it was, but they continued to ask me if I would be interested in being in a clinical study.

And I said yes.

And the exciting thing for me is that there are two kinds of proteins that, define Alzheimer's, and the one that the medicine is on the market for is not what I have.

I have another one which is called tau, and there is no medicine for that.

So it was a no brainer for me to go into this study, which hopefully will remove tau and make a difference in my life.

What have you learned through this process, and what do you think are the biggest misconceptions about Alzheimer's?

Well, first of all, I've been living with this disease that I know of for four years, and I probably had it for ten years.

So the thing that I'm learning is that it's very important to have that memory screen and find out, whether you have the disease, because, as Amy said, there's many things that you can do about it.

And the most the biggest misconception, perhaps, is that that you that people think there's nothing you can do about it.

And there certainly is.

And I could name all kinds of things I'm doing in addition to having the, infusions that I get, also and I can go along with some others if you like.

Go ahead and, you know, go for it.

No.

So so, for example, I exercise and I think two of the most important exercises are cardio, assuming that you don't have other heart issues because that again gets oxygen to your brain.

And the other one is balance.

As you get to be my age, more and more people fall.

And a way to try to avoid that is to learn how to improve your balance.

So that's extremely important.

Also what you eat.

We all know this, that we shouldn't be eating all these sweets and butter and things like that, but I have really taken to heart and I, you know, I try to follow the Mediterranean diet.

I try to stay away from sweets and not that I don't reward myself every once in a while, but I think that's also a very important thing to do, because that also has been proven to make a big difference in your overall health.

And that's something that you need to take care of as well.

Amy, for people listening who might be concerned about themselves or a loved one, your advice?

When is it time to get checked?

The changes that we see, particularly with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, aren't some of the changes that we may be experiencing.

So I'd say, have you ever had one of those times where, you know you forgot an appointment?

Sure.

Or you lost something on your desk?

These changes are a little a little bit different.

So back to your point of looking.

Make notes about what you see.

Because one of the things so and it doesn't have to be in doubt.

But gosh, when I did this, I had to tell my mom four times about the fact that we have an appointment.

So the first thing to do is kind of document what you're saying.

I'd like to ask, what is your message to folks out there who, might be concerned they're going to be on the same journey as you?

Or maybe they think their loved one is going on the same journey as you've been on your message of hope to them.

Well, it's not just hope.

It's it's get your memory screen and get a baseline because just as you get a mammogram, if you're a woman or you get a PSA test, which you absolutely look at, as soon as the results are there, you should do the same thing with your memory screen, because that way you can follow how your how your brain is working and get some help right away.

And as soon as I got the diagnosis, thankfully from Neuropsychiatric Research Center, I was actually relieved because I knew there was something wrong because of what I hadn't been able to do with my Instant Pot.

And now I had an answer.

So my message to people is, get that memory screen.

Take, dementia seriously.

The, Alzheimer's Association says it's increasing at least 140% since 2020.

Well, the heart and the cancer are both declining, which means that it's just going to keep escalating.

So we know that that many of us are going to have this disease.

And so the question is get the diagnosis, treat it, and make sure that it slows down.

And in some cases just, you die of something else.

And that would be my goal.

Lee and Amy, I thank you both so much for your time.

A life changing treatment for pediatric cancer arrived last week in southwest Florida.

A crane delivered a proton therapy machine weighing more than 150 tons via a hatch in the roof of its new home in a sterile southwest Florida.

Proton says this project is five years in the making.

The treatment center is also partnering with Lee health.

The Proteus one machine comes from Belgium and costs tens of millions of dollars.

It will provide one of the most advanced types of radiation treatments by generating a beam of protons that more precisely targets patients tumors.

Radiation oncologist Doctor Todd Peggy says this treatment is different from other cancer therapies.

So radiation therapy is not invasive in the sense that there's no cutting suture stitches.

There is a beam that enters the body.

And the reason that protons are special is that they don't pass directly through you.

The way that traditional radiation does with X-rays.

And as a result of that, the dose is a little more concentrated on the tumor and is better able to better able to spare nearby non-target organs.

And thus that translates.

It's generally to reduce side effects for patients.

So while proton therapy is good news for Southwest Florida, PSC says demand for cancer treatment is greater than the technology can keep up with.

The reality is, is there is more demand than there is supply for proton therapy.

Half of cancer patients will at some point require radiation therapy, and the vast majority of those treatments are delivered with X-rays.

The reason it's not more available is really do, unfortunately, to the cost of constructing these facilities.

It's extremely expensive, requires a lot of planning, a lot of engineering support.

So in this country now there's a couple dozen facilities.

But there's really just not enough.

Phase one of the facility will open this month.

The season started like any other for FGCU's powerhouse women's basketball team poised for victory under a legendary coach.

But after game two, a seismic shift, Carl Smith go left for the NBA's Atlanta Dream.

Now a former player steps up as head coach.

Can she keep the Eagles flying high?

Amanda in score.

Whittemore reports.

As FGCU'S new women's basketball coach, Chelsea Lyles knows, she is following a legend.

Carl Smith go left the Eagles in November as one of the winningest coaches in women's college basketball.

But Lyles is confident she's been trained by the best.

She played basketball at FGCU from 2008 to 2010, and played one season of volleyball for the Eagles as a graduate student.

She joined the basketball teams coaching staff as a student assistant in 2010.

Yeah, it feels good.

I mean, to get your first head coaching job at a place where you played and then work your way up the ladder and then eventually got to the head coaching spot is it's an honor and I'm grateful to be here.

However, Lyles wasn't expecting the transition to happen so abruptly.

It was a shock when it happened and how it happened, and I've always loved working under Coach Esco, and he's been a great mentor and friend to me.

And so yeah, just working our way forward and, you know, trying to have a special season this year.

This year, senior Maddie Antonucci says the transition from Mexico to Lyles has been easy.

She knows the system better than anyone else besides Coach Cemesto, so she's just there to reiterate the things that he instilled here.

She's a different voice, different energy, but it's still the same Fgcu basketball.

It's not.

Antonucci says losing Masco is actually bringing the team closer together.

Everyone handles this type of stuff differently, so you just have to give each other time.

You have to be there for one another, lift each other up.

It's more about the team.

It's hard about yourself and the emotions, and we don't have time to sulk in them.

While Lyles has been on the bench with Cemesto for 16 years.

She says being head coach is different.

It's totally different because every decision is on you.

And as an assistant coach you can give your opinion.

But as a head coach, every single thing and every call is on you and you've got to see multiple things that are going on.

And so thankfully, the coach the most goes let me coach a few games in the past.

So I'm very grateful for him for allowing me to do that because I was a little bit more prepared for actually standing and being in control of the game.

Lyles hopes her decisions help the team continue their winning ways.

Last season, the Eagles won their seventh consecutive ace and tournament title and made it to the NCAA tournament for the 10th time.

I'm just excited for the girls and excited to see what they can do and how they come together as a team, and so looking forward to that.

For WGCU news, I'm Amanda InScore Whitmore.

She's just 17 and already a published author coming up on Southwest Florida InFocus meet Natasha Agarwal, whose new book celebrates African women breaking barriers and inspires the next generation to dream big.

A Fort Myers High School senior is inspiring a generation.

Natasha Agarwal, just 17, has published a powerful book spotlighting 21 African women who broke barriers to achieve greatness.

Her mission to show young African girls the power of education and limitless potential.

Carrie Barber reports.

Angelique Kidjo was born into a family of musicians and surrounded by traditional Beninese and urban music growing up.

She started to perform with her mother's theater group at age six, giving her early exposure to the arts in Africa.

That's Natasha Agarwal reading from her new book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers.

It describes the lives of 21 African born women who've overcome challenges to find success in various fields.

My goal with this book is really to show young African girls what's out there, because they may not be aware of those possibilities.

And if she sounds young, that's because she is.

She's a 17 year old high school senior at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers.

She wrote the books because she wanted young African girls to be able to see a successful future for themselves, with education and freedom to pursue their interests.

I discovered that this gap was disproportionately affecting women.

There's, you know, forced marriage, there's gender stigmas, there's premature workforce entrants that are all more prevalent among young girls in Africa.

So that's why I decided that these girls, as I read, didn't even have often the exposure to envision a better future for themselves, different than the ones they were experiencing currently.

Agarwal was able to contact one of the women in the book.

Nana AMA Brown, a professor of physics at the University of Ghana, offered to spearhead distributing the book in her home country.

She told us she planned to visit 50 schools and distribute 20 books each school's in 2021.

Agarwal created the nonprofit organization Believe in Books, which distributes books to underserved children.

I read that kids in low income families receiving welfare benefits here about 63,000 to 153,000 less words than kids in middle to upper class families per month.

And so I think that's a large reason as to why we have to work to fight the literacy gap.

Together with the group, Agarwal continues to do book drives.

They have distributed 120,000 books so far.

I began watching stories of children who across the country lacked access to reading materials.

I really started thinking, how can my gently used books that I'm no longer using benefit someone else, and potentially even their future?

Agarwal hopes to continue a series of features women from other continents.

It's the first of the Believe in Me series here.

In the future, I'm hoping to continue and publish books that feature women from, you know, many different continents in the world.

So that's the long term goal here.

In her teenage years, as she saw it, took a liking to soccer, playing for hours a day in the streets of Nigeria.

Her parents assumed it was a phase, believing that sports were not an acceptable.

For WGCU news, I'm Carrie Barber with help from Andrea melendez.

Coming up next week on Southwest Florida in focus, Southwest Florida grows as a manufacturing and logistics hub with big effects on housing, jobs, traffic, and the environment.

We'll look at the booming economy and what it holds for our future.

Be sure to join us for that story and much more on WGCU Until then, have a great week everyone!