David & Susan Axelrod's war on epilepsy

by John McCormick

Susan Axelrod does not like that her husband is rarely home to enjoy their high-rise condominium along Chicago's lakefront, that he is constantly tired or that strangers now approach them almost everywhere they go.

Still, there are perks to being the spouse of President Barack Obama's top political guru, like getting to attend a recent Stevie Wonder appearance at the White House. For Susan Axelrod, however, one benefit easily outweighs all the others.

"I'm hoping all this publicity we have had will help open doors," she said in the River North office that used to be her husband's. "It's long overdue for this disease."

That disease is epilepsy, an ailment that first struck David and Susan Axelrod's daughter more than a quarter-century ago, forever changing all of their lives.

As her husband works in Washington, Susan Axelrod continues to spend much of her time supporting the Chicago-based charitable organization she and two other mothers founded in 1998 to promote epilepsy research and education.

The national profile of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) has already been boosted by the couple's newfound fame, landing Susan Axelrod recently on the cover of a Sunday magazine and on network television talk shows.

In the coming months, Susan Axelrod also plans to spend more time lobbying on Capitol Hill for additional federal research funding. An annual fundraising dinner in Chicago for 750 people on Friday evening, meanwhile, sold out faster than ever before, as business and political leaders snapped up a chance to support a cause central to one of Obama's top aides.

The rest of the story is in Friday's Chicago Tribune.