Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jill Atkinson,

I am appealing to drop GEOL 232 (Fall, 2021) due to medical issues involving microscope work.
Although the final date to drop courses for this semester without academic penalty was on November 1st, 2021, I did not realize that I would need to drop GEOL 232 until November 15th, 2021. Since I started my time at Queen's in fall 2019, I have been dealing with remaining symptoms from a concussion (which occurred in May 2019), and I do have accommodations in place for them. However, I did not realize how severely my symptoms would impact my ability to complete GEOL 232 until very recently.
For the first 7 weeks of GEOL 232, I did not have any issues beyond my usual symptoms (headaches, fatigue, eye pain and neck pain). However, in Week 8 we began working with Polarizing Light Microscopes during our weekly lab. Up until Week 8, I had not used any sort of microscope since I was in high school (prior to my concussion). The first lab using the microscope was tolerable, as my lab partner was doing more work directly on the microscope than I was (since they are fine tuned to one person's eyes). During the second microscope lab in Week 9 (November 8th), we decided that I should be the one working with the microscope. After the 3-hour lab period, I had symptoms that were noticeably worse than my usual issues and I felt unwell for the rest of the night. The following day, on November 9th, I had a severe migraine and an ocular migraine for about 14 hours.
When I woke up at 7:30 am on November 9th, my symptoms were somewhat worse than what I usually expect to wake up with, so I took some extra medication and made my way to campus for my 9:30 GEOL 232 lecture. When I got onto the bus, I felt the need to keep my sunglasses on because my eyes were sensitive. Walking to class after the bus, the pressure in my eyes had gotten much worse, and I felt dizzy. When I got seated in my lecture, the lights were bothering me much more than they usually would. Once class started, I was trying my best to pay attention and keep up with notes but after 15 minutes I was unable to do that. I was struggling to keep my eyes opened and I felt like I might pass out from how bad the headache was. By halfway through the class, I got tunnel-vision and I couldn't see any of the chairs on either side of me. When class ended around 10:20, getting out of my seat was very difficult because I was so dizzy, I felt like I was impaired. I did not feel as though I would be able to get home safely by myself, so I waited outside the building and called my boyfriend, who left his lecture early. I had to have him help me get up off the ground and into the Uber. I spent the rest of the day in bed with all the lights off and the curtains closed, and I threw up at one point from the pain I was in. The episode seemed to end around 9:30 pm, but I had a headache and sensitive eyes for the rest of the night, and I went to bed earlier than usual. Since then, my eyes have felt slightly more sensitive than usual. By November 15th, I realized I did not feel safe or comfortable working with microscopes.
After speaking with my vision therapist, we agreed that this was likely caused by use of the microscope. Professor Rogers had also mentioned during lab that those who had concussions in the past may find working with microscopes more difficult. I feel as though it is not viable for me to continue in GEOL 232 due to the impacts the microscope will have on my health. Professor Rogers spoke with the Undergraduate Advisor, who suggested giving me a special circumstance deferral as the final grade, which would mean I could finish GEOL 232 next semester. Unfortunately, since recovering from the concussion is proving to be a very slow process for me, I do not think it would be realistic for me to resume microscope work within a reasonable time frame.
Going forward, I plan to continue with the post-concussion treatment I have already been doing. I have been doing vision therapy with Napanee Family Eyecare, seeing a physiotherapist through Skyward Active Health Centre, and I have been seeing doctors at KOPI. I have been taking a lighter course load but am attempting to work my way back up to five courses per semester. I plan to withdraw from my Geological Sciences minor, as continuing with the program would involve more microscope work. I will continue with my Environmental Science major, and I will also continue to use/renew my accommodations with QSAS as long as they are necessary. Before enrolling in any future science courses, I will contact the applicable department to find out if they involve any microscope work. At the beginning of each semester, I will also be sure to speak with my professors to confirm that there is no microscope work. If there are courses that I need to take that involve microscope work, I plan on contacting QSAS to see if there would be any way for me to avoid it while continuing with the course.

Thank you for your time in considering my appeal,
Caitlin Shaver