C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

It started with Craig Heisey's big toe.

Heisey, a man who could make anything with his hands, had trouble moving his toe. A strong man with four kids, it all started with his toe – and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis moved up his body until it killed him.

Heisey died of ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, in 2007, and it's something his son, Chris, has tried to do his best to bring awareness of in his role as a Major League Baseball player.

"Just to watch him, he was a strong guy, it completely takes your muscle mass," the Reds' Heisey said recently. "It destroys them because you're not using your muscles because you can't because your brain can't relay that to your muscles. You watched him deteriorate."

The three-day 2014 National ALS Advocacy Day and Public Policy Conference concludes Friday in Washington, D.C. as part of ALS Awareness Month.

Heisey said he likes talking about his father's illness whenever he can, in any hope to raise awareness of the disease.

"It started in his toe and then his legs got weak and he couldn't move his legs and ultimately when it gets to the middle of your body, your internal organs stop working," Heisey said. "It's terrible. It was one of the most helpless things you could ever experience. He knew there was nothing he could do, and us as his family, we knew there was nothing we could do to slow or stop it. It was very long and painful experience. He wasn't in pain, which was good, he didn't experience a whole lot of pain and his mind was sharp the whole time, which is nice. He was able to be there and understand what was going on. We were able to continue our relationship even until the last days, that was a positive."

Craig Heisey lived long enough to see his son drafted by the Reds in the 17th round of the 2006 draft, and even made trips to see him play in Billings, Mont., in Rookie ball in 2006 and to Class A Dayton in 2007, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

Craig Hesiey died Oct. 5, 2007, just after his oldest son, Chris, was promoted to high-Class A late in the 2007 season. He wouldn't be there when he made his big-league debut on May 3, 2010, but he was there in spirit.

The elder Heisey was always there for his son, whether it was to share good news or to play basketball in the back yard when Chris came home from college.

"He loved being active, when his legs got taken away from him, it was tough to see him not be able to do the things he loved," Heisey said. "He was always on his feet, he was very handy, he was an artist. He went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he could do any project. He built our deck, he built an immaculate playhouse for us when we were younger.

"Just to see him not be able to do the things he loved, that was the hardest part."

It also took its toll on his family, and his mother, Linda. Heisey's youngest sister, Jessica, has DiGeorge Syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that requires full-time care from her mother. By the time Craig was sick, Linda Heisey had to basically take care of two other people full-time.

"She's a strong woman, she took care of them both. It was definitely hard on her. We helped when we could," Chris Heisey said. "She did a great job of being the rock of the family, taking care of my family, because he was the strong one of the family before he got sick."

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