how to enable mouse keys by default or command-line?

I have one of those minor bugs that annoys me, and I put it off while I was tracking down other bigger problems. But I tend to use mouse keys (on the num pad) a lot. However, at least once an hour or so, they just stop working, and I have to go into the Trinity Control Center dialogue and set them again. ALT-F12 enables them, but then the settings aren't mine; the cursors moves slower, and my click keys don't work. Also, many times when this happens my keyboard will also stop working, so I have to go to enable to mouse keys with only the mouse itself working. I feel like there is probably a configuration file hidden somewhere, or an easy command that would enable them quicker than what I have to do now. On the old KDE3, too, this was somewhat of a problem, but only when I first booted. Then I would enable the mouse keys, and they would be stable for the rest of the session. This is much more buggy. By the way, I am using an old Apple mouse, model #A1152, and I run Debian Jessie 8.8.x with TDE. Thanks for any suggestions. Bill