Reader’s Digest Australia & New Zealand – May 2019

WHAT’SWRONGWITH CONNER?

114 | May• 2019

T

HELIGHTNINGhit

ona stormyJune

a f ter nooni n2016.

Itthrashedthrough

thechimneyofthe

two-storeyhome,

beforesettingoffa

gasexplosioninthebasementthat

shookthewalls.

JeffBeishwasinthelivingroom

withhisthree-year-oldsonConner

watchingtelevision.Hegrabbed

Conner,ranoutside, andcalled

emergencyservices. Whilethey

stoodintheyard,firesurgedthrough

thelivingroomf loor.

Jeff’swife,Hollie,andtheBeishes’

otherson,seven-year-oldJaxon,were

out.Bythetimetheygothome,fire-

fightershadextinguishedthef lames.

TheBeishesspentthenextmonth

atanearbyhotelwhilethehouse

underwentrepairs.Whichwould

havebeenfine,exceptthatConner

wassickandgotworseatthehotel.

TheBeisheshopedthathiscondi-

tionwasn’tserious.Certainly,they

reassuredthemselves,itwasnoth-

ingcatastrophic.Afterall,lightning

neverstrikesthesameplacetwice.

B

ORNINAUGUST2012,Conner

hadbeena healthyinfant.By

thetimeheturnedone,hehad

a fullheadofwav yblondhairanda

wide,mischievoussmile.Hestarted

walkingat 13 months.

WordscameslowlytoConner.By

his second birthday, he’dmastered

aboutten of them; the number

shouldhavebeenatleast 50.“I

assumedit wasbecauseJaxonwould

alwaysspeakforhim,”saidHollie,

somethingbigbrothersoftendo.

TheBeishes’paediatriciansaidnotto

worry,thatsomechildrengainwords

inbursts.

MonthspassedandConner’spro-

gresswasstillslow.TheBeishestook

himtoa speechpathologist.

Inherlate20s,Holliewas1.6me-

trestall.Jeffwasa fewyearsolderand

muchtaller.Atruckdriver,hewas

oftenawayfromhomeforextended

stretchesoftime.Asa full-timemum,

HollieadaptedthemosttoConner’s

limitedcommunication.

IfConnerdidn’tknowa word,he

wouldmakea soundinstead– imi-

tatingthesuckingofliquidthrough

a strawif hewasthirsty,forinstance.

Some words he understoodbut

couldn’tquitesay:Jaxonwas‘Bub-

ba’,Jeffwas‘Da’,andHolliewas‘Me’.

Connerstartedpreschoolatthree.

Whenphotodayrolledaround,on

October1,2015,Hollienoticedthat

heseemedtired.Atschool,Con-

nersatforhispicture,offeringthe

photographera close-lippedsmile.

Then,ashereturnedtohisseat,

Conner crumpled ontothe car-

pet.Histeacherrushedhimtothe

nurse’soffice.Hisforeheadfeltwarm,

andsoonhebeganconvulsing.The

seizurelastedsixminutes.

WhentheschoolcalledHollie,she

jumped in her car, resisting the urge