Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dean,

I hope you are doing well. My name is Emma Sheldon, and I am a second-year Arts and Sciences student. I am writing to you hoping you will consider my unpredicted unfortunate circumstance for an academic appeal to a late drop in my FILM 217 course for the success of my health and well-being.
In October, I got into a traumatic accident-causing severe injuries, including a concussion and a fractured humerus where my left arm was in a sling. I have been suffering from these injuries in excruciating pain while on strong medication, making me immobilized in bed as I recover at home in Toronto. This continues to be the case until I am well enough to return to Kingston and gain the ability to perform everyday tasks with ease, increase mobility, and can focus on my schoolwork as well as attend in-person classes. My concussion has led me to be in post-concussion syndrome, prolonging my symptoms past my anticipated recovery date, sustaining more than six weeks, which brought me beyond the deadline for dropping courses to determine this. I have been experiencing changes in my mental health of depression and anxiety from my concussion which has been further impacting my ability to complete tasks and even get out of bed in the morning, in this challenging time where I often feel hopeless. I have also experienced a lot of insomnia through my discomfort and constant worrying.
While in Toronto, I found myself pushing through my symptoms to complete my work and assignments, even with my accommodations put in place, causing complications to my concussion. The stress and screen time worsened my symptoms, and I ended up in the emergency room of Sunnybrook hospital. I have been seeking help from the concussion clinic along with an occupational therapist at Sunnybrook and through Queens to try and strategize my work and everyday tasks, set up accommodations, and overall check up on my well-being. This year I started a new type of medication to treat my ADHD, which for the time being is not prohibited as this can further affect my head injury to assist me in my learning which is necessary.
These challenges have caused me to lose weight to the point of doctors being concerned about my health going forward. I was able to drop one of my classes before the drop date deadline, thinking I would be able to complete this new course load as my healing gets better, but with these unpredictable setbacks in my recovery process, taking the FILM 217 courses is unmanageable for me in this position for the rest of the semester as it puts a strain on my health and I have a lot of catching up to do which is unrealistic before the final exam as I have been struggling to keep up and balance both of my courses. I would still like to move forward and do school while participating in the HLTH 101 course alone, which would be more manageable, allowing me to rest my brain and not overwork my cognitive functions while still exercising my brain and progressing in school. Looking forward, I have reduced my winter course load to 3 courses. If I can drop the FILM 217 course from this semester promoting my recovery, this should be attainable by this time. Still, I will keep a close eye and see where I am by week 7 to avoid a late drop; unfortunately, this could not have been the case due to my acute injury this semester. I have been struggling with coming to this decision but have concluded that it would be in my best interest for my health and well-being to no longer push myself to complete this course. Your understanding would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,
Emma