Petition Letter
On October 1st, 2011, one month into my first semester at Queens, l was in a mountain bike race for the Queen's cycling team and crashed my shoulder very hard into a tree. I was really enjoying school after arriving from Victoria, British Columbia by bicycle. After that accident my health and well-being changed dramatically.
I saw Dr. Joan Lacoursiere shortly after the accident. Dr. Lacoursiere said I had a concussion. After a few weeks of continued problems, she put me on bed rest for two weeks with limited stimulation (darkened room, no computers, no classes). l slept in my dorm room for 20 hours a day. She then requested that I have an MRI which showed that I had a 2-5mm bleed in the frontal left hemisphere of my brain. It was very challenging to focus on any task for more than 10min. Light was incredibly bright and any auditory sound was bothersome and exhausting.
Dr Lacoursiere recommended that I return home to Victoria so I could recover and be with my family until Christmas and then determine next steps. I returned home to Victoria early December 2011. I managed to write two exams at home in Victoria invigilated by a Kinesiology professor at the University of Victoria (with accommodations). My family wanted me to return to school for the winter semester as I was hopeful I would recover with time. When I returned I continued to have problems reading and focusing. I dropped phycology 100 shortly after the holiday break because l was so behind and unable to read any of the content in the textbook. My chemistry professor (Dr. Carran) recommended that I do not to write my chemistry mid year exam because l had attended so few lectures that semester. Unfortunately, the winter semester of 2012 was just as challenging as the fall semester. I was not capable to submit an appeal for BOL 102 at that time because my injury inhibited me from doing so. I was too exhausted and overwhelmed over the winter holidays to process anything other than my own healing.
After several visits with Dr. Lacoursiere and an ophthalmologist in Kingston l found out my eyes were damaged from the crash and l could no longer read for any length of time because it was very difficult to focus.
Both semesters were very challenging for me in my first year at Queen's. It is an incredible personal achievement l did not drop out of school. I almost failed my final exam in Chemistry 112 and BOL 103 because there were so many obstacles for me to learn and focus on the material. I had to take breaks regularly and slept through classes so my brain could recover and rest. After my marks came out l was still very cognitively disabled and was unable to file an appeal. I was not in the right place to work through an appeal and my mental health had also degraded at that time as well.
After first year l did some neurological rehabilitation at the Valentus clinic in Victoria. I also was seen by the head injury clinic at Victoria General Hospital. This helped somewhat but l still struggled with simple tasks such as focusing on video lectures and reading material. I returned to second year after doctors at the Victoria General hospital recommended I go back to school to push my brain and develop new neural networks. Memorizing new information was very challenging for me still and both Anatomy 315 and 316 were a real struggle. I performed well under my capacity given my challenges and but was improving slowly overall.
In the summer of 3rd year l saw Dr. Pegado, an ophthalmologist in Victoria, he gave me a surgery date to move the insertion of the medial rectus. In September 2014 I finally received surgery and most of my vision was recovered. My 4th year academic record demonstrated this.
Due to all these factors and my health history at Queen's l am requesting that Queen's waives my 21 day appeal for Chem 112, BIOL 102, BIOL 103, ANAT 315, and ANAT 316. I took these courses when l was cognitively impaired and disabled. They do not represent what l am capable of. All of the limited cognitive resources l had at that time was spent on the courses that l was able to learn in. I was not able to organize an appeal process previously in my undergrad due to the severity of my injury and the prolonged state of disability l was functioning in. The faculty of Kinesiology and Health Science has an extensive record and documentation of my health and academic history at Queen's.
Thank you for your considerations.
I saw Dr. Joan Lacoursiere shortly after the accident. Dr. Lacoursiere said I had a concussion. After a few weeks of continued problems, she put me on bed rest for two weeks with limited stimulation (darkened room, no computers, no classes). l slept in my dorm room for 20 hours a day. She then requested that I have an MRI which showed that I had a 2-5mm bleed in the frontal left hemisphere of my brain. It was very challenging to focus on any task for more than 10min. Light was incredibly bright and any auditory sound was bothersome and exhausting.
Dr Lacoursiere recommended that I return home to Victoria so I could recover and be with my family until Christmas and then determine next steps. I returned home to Victoria early December 2011. I managed to write two exams at home in Victoria invigilated by a Kinesiology professor at the University of Victoria (with accommodations). My family wanted me to return to school for the winter semester as I was hopeful I would recover with time. When I returned I continued to have problems reading and focusing. I dropped phycology 100 shortly after the holiday break because l was so behind and unable to read any of the content in the textbook. My chemistry professor (Dr. Carran) recommended that I do not to write my chemistry mid year exam because l had attended so few lectures that semester. Unfortunately, the winter semester of 2012 was just as challenging as the fall semester. I was not capable to submit an appeal for BOL 102 at that time because my injury inhibited me from doing so. I was too exhausted and overwhelmed over the winter holidays to process anything other than my own healing.
After several visits with Dr. Lacoursiere and an ophthalmologist in Kingston l found out my eyes were damaged from the crash and l could no longer read for any length of time because it was very difficult to focus.
Both semesters were very challenging for me in my first year at Queen's. It is an incredible personal achievement l did not drop out of school. I almost failed my final exam in Chemistry 112 and BOL 103 because there were so many obstacles for me to learn and focus on the material. I had to take breaks regularly and slept through classes so my brain could recover and rest. After my marks came out l was still very cognitively disabled and was unable to file an appeal. I was not in the right place to work through an appeal and my mental health had also degraded at that time as well.
After first year l did some neurological rehabilitation at the Valentus clinic in Victoria. I also was seen by the head injury clinic at Victoria General Hospital. This helped somewhat but l still struggled with simple tasks such as focusing on video lectures and reading material. I returned to second year after doctors at the Victoria General hospital recommended I go back to school to push my brain and develop new neural networks. Memorizing new information was very challenging for me still and both Anatomy 315 and 316 were a real struggle. I performed well under my capacity given my challenges and but was improving slowly overall.
In the summer of 3rd year l saw Dr. Pegado, an ophthalmologist in Victoria, he gave me a surgery date to move the insertion of the medial rectus. In September 2014 I finally received surgery and most of my vision was recovered. My 4th year academic record demonstrated this.
Due to all these factors and my health history at Queen's l am requesting that Queen's waives my 21 day appeal for Chem 112, BIOL 102, BIOL 103, ANAT 315, and ANAT 316. I took these courses when l was cognitively impaired and disabled. They do not represent what l am capable of. All of the limited cognitive resources l had at that time was spent on the courses that l was able to learn in. I was not able to organize an appeal process previously in my undergrad due to the severity of my injury and the prolonged state of disability l was functioning in. The faculty of Kinesiology and Health Science has an extensive record and documentation of my health and academic history at Queen's.
Thank you for your considerations.