Robert Wallace saw the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease in his mother when she was around 75 years old and struggling to write a check to the IRS.
“She was sitting with her checkbook and crying because she couldn’t figure out how to write the check,” the Westlake Village man recalled. “I thought, ‘This isn’t a good sign.’ That was the first time that I realized she was losing her ability to do daily affairs.”
His mother, Margie Huberland, was living in a condominium at the time. Less than a year later, she moved to the Belmont Village assisted-living facility in Sherman Oaks.
“She lived at Belmont for 15 years, so she deteriorated quite slowly,” Wallace said. “They lose their ability to reason and reckon, but they keep everything else, so their emotions are intact.”
Huberland died on Sept. 13, 2017, at the age of 93. Wallace sat by her side, holding her hand.
“Her emotions were completely intact,” he said, “even when she was almost comatose.”
After his mother’s death, Wallace wanted to make his own contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association by organizing a fundraising comedy show in her honor.
“There’s Nothing Funny about Alzheimer’s, Except This Show” will take place Sunday at the Scherr Forum Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.
“We hope to raise at least $30,000,” said Wallace, who ended up creating the Alzheimer’s Comedy Initiative and serving as volunteer co-chair for the Alzheimer’s Association Comedy Benefit Show. Proceeds will stay in the Ventura County area and will help support caregiver consultations and classes, plus advocacy and research in Southern California.
There are more than 14,000 people living with Alzheimer’s in Ventura County, Wallace noted, and more than 5 million individuals with the disease nationwide — a number that’s projected to more than triple by 2050.
“It’s a good place for me to put my energy,” said Wallace, a retired obstetrician. “I’ve been retired for several years and I put my energy into mostly volunteer things. This is my newest one, and it’s got all of my energy.”
Fritz Coleman, Randy Lubas, Karen Rontowski and Marty Ross are among the comedians who will perform Sunday.
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