The Quinn family, of Raymond, was driving back from a day of dirt biking when the youngest son, Weston, began having what was later discovered to be a tonic-clonic seizure.

“I knew what I was looking at,” said Weston’s mother, Hannah, who has experience in pediatric care, “but when it’s your own child, you just sort of freeze a little bit.”

Weston was taken to the hospital, where Hannah recalled the doctor assuring the family what they saw was a seizure, before referring them to neurology and sending them home.

When Weston began having more frequent seizures, the Quinns had their referral moved up. Weston underwent a 72-hour electroencephalogram (EEG) so the neurologists could get a better picture of what was happening with his brain. The test revealed Weston had juvenile epilepsy.

Two years after the initial diagnosis, Weston, now 9, has published a book about his journey, “Juvenile Epilepsy Warrior.” This is one of several books written by children attending Play Warriors Pediatric Therapy Services in Windham, each dealing with loss or struggles with an illness or disability.

In the wake of his diagnosis, Weston was afraid to go to school, worried he would have a seizure while surrounded by his peers. This was compounded by the fact that, according to his mother, Weston often enters a “postictal” state following seizures, meaning he is unable to speak for up to 30 minutes. Weston, Hannah recalled, would run away from the school bus, or otherwise refuse to leave the house.

The Quinns were then introduced to Kimberly Leighton of Play Warriors, a pediatric therapy practice in Windham that serves children with trauma, terminal illnesses and special needs. Leighton, a certified child life specialist, said her organization is the only such program in Maine to operate as a private practice. The program mostly works with patients one-on-one, but also holds playgroups so that patients and their families can have a form of peer support.

Hannah said that, from the first meeting with Play Warriors, she knew Leighton was the perfect match for Weston and their family because she “understands kids in a wholesome way,” and gave him tools to deal with stress, anxiety, and the unknown. It was Leighton, she said, who brought up the idea of writing a book for Weston to help “gain power” over his story with epilepsy.

Weston is not the only one to have written a book. Five books have been written by Play Warriors patients, dealing with subjects ranging from the loss of a parent to conditions such as infantile Pompe disease and ophthalmic brain stem glioma, with forthcoming books on lymphoma and a grandparent’s Alzheimer’s. Leighton said she helps children who are interested in writing to compile what they’ve done during therapeutic sessions into a book as a sort of “final project,” helping them gain a sense of agency to help others.

“It’s a really cool process and a way they can build their self confidence and teach others about what they’ve been through,” said Leighton.

The book was entirely written and illustrated by Weston, with some help from Leighton. Hannah said that, when she and her husband got to read the finished book, it was a unique experience to compare Weston’s version of what happened with what they experienced.

Weston’s friends have reacted positively to the book. A lot of them, Hannah said, knew he was going through something major, and the book was a nice way for Weston to explain, in his own words, what was happening over the past two years. Hannah also said she has met people since the book was published who know someone with epilepsy, and sees the book as a “good tool for other people to relate to.”

In addition to writing his memoir, Weston was named an honorary member of the St. Joseph’s College men’s soccer team through Team IMPACT, an organization that matches children with disabilities and serious illnesses with a college sports team. In the middle of the last season, the team held an epilepsy awareness night, in which the entire team rallied in support of Weston.

Weston recalled a recent book signing, at Play Warriors. He said he had fun, and enjoyed signing the books and sharing the experience with his friends.

“Juvenile Epilepsy Warrior” is available for purchase on Amazon. All proceeds from the book go toward juvenile epilepsy research.