Dings

DINGS tells the story of a mother’s struggle to support and defend her son midst his mysterious and unrecognized condition. The school believes Conner is not ready for the third grade. His teacher recommends that he repeat second grade. Conner’s dad is on a combat tour in 2006-7 Iraq. The adults assume that Conner’s stress and anxiety over his father at war have interfered with his school success. Sandra is embittered that she must deal with her son’s problem alone.

Conner’s condition eludes the adults. He has blank outs that are not appreciated. His friends think that he acts “weird” sometimes. A psychologist identifies his client’s anxieties and works to alleviate Conner’s stress.

Sandra's husband returns from war, yet not all is well. Sam has changed. She recognizes his PTSD symptoms: he drinks more, he snaps at the family and has bad dreams, but he denies anything is wrong. Sandra is under mounting emotional stresses; she is uncertain that she can keep her family together.

One night, Conner gets a high fever and has a convulsion. At the E. R., he has a brain CT scan and gets a spinal tap. The doctor lists epilepsy as a possible cause of the convulsion and refers Conner to a neurologist. Sandra interprets the mere mention of epilepsy as a personal affront. How could her son have such a stigmatizing and debilitating disease? He has never had any seizures before. But, all of their lives change when they meet the neurologist.

The reader will accompany the family as they travel their fascinating joint clinical and emotional journey to help their son.

A practical epilepsy glossary is appended at the end of the novel.