PUBLISHED: February 27, 2005
By Frank DeFrank
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Go home.

A simple enough message. Even inviting. Most nights, that's exactly what most of us want to do after work.

Go home.

But when you've been diagnosed with a diabolical disease -- a disease that progressively paralyzes your body while leaving your mind untouched -- that's not what you want to hear from your doctors.

Yet, "Go home" is exactly the message Mary Lou Krauseneck of Harrison Township heard from medical experts nearly five years ago.

Krauseneck, now 50, was diagnosed in 2000 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, the neurological disorder that claimed the life of the New York Yankees star at the height of his career.

ALS patients gradually lose control of the most basic of bodily functions. The disease has no cure and no effective treatments. Most ALS patients die within five years of diagnosis.

Given those cold, hard, unalterable facts, it would be quite easy to feel sorry for Krauseneck. But you'd be wasting your time, because she doesn't feel sorry for herself.

"I try to look at life in the present," Krauseneck, the mother of two college students, told a visitor to her lakefront home in Harrison Township. "It's very humbling. You (progressively) can't do anything for yourself.

"But I have so many people who reach out."

Krauseneck's present concern is the fourth annual Passion for Life benefit March 4 to raise funds for the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, a non-profit biotechnology company whose mission is to accelerate new drug therapies for ALS sufferers.

Shortly after Krauseneck was diagnosed, family and friends got together and came up with fund-raising plan.

"It's largely a group of about 40 to 60 women (who started the fund-raiser), although the men kick in and help at the end," said Bernadette Cooper, Krauseneck's sister. "In two months time (each year), we put together this phenomenal event."

For the first event in 2001, the fledgling group hoped to attract 200 guests and raise $50,000. More than 750 showed up and contributed $225,000.

Two more Passion for Life benefits the past two years have boosted the total to more than $750,000. The organization hopes to top the $1 million mark at Friday's benefit at Zuccaro's Banquets and Catering in Chesterfield Township.

The event features hors d'oeuvres and desserts, silent and live auctions, musical entertainment and information on the efforts of ALS TDF and its progress in researching new treatment. Tickets are $100 per person.

Krauseneck and her family have no illusions. They know advancements in ALS treatment may not come in time to help her.

"We can't give her a cure at this moment," said Cooper. "But we hope someday, somebody else won't have to be told, 'Go home.' "