Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dean Stephenson,

My name is Christina Gee, and I am a first-year Kinesiology student at Queen??s University. I am writing to petition for the late dropping of three of my Winter 2023 courses (ANAT 101, BIOL 102 ONL, and KNPE 125) due to extenuating circumstances.

Approximately three to four weeks into starting Winter term classes, I started to experience symptoms that were consistent with Major Depression Disorder. I had physical, thinking, and socio-emotional symptoms which impacted my ability to not only read, write, and attend classes, but to simply function as a person. Due to the degree my symptoms were impinging on my academics and overall quality of life, I booked the next available appointment with my family doctor, which was on February 10, 2023, as well as a counselling appointment on February 6, 2023, with the same counsellor I had previously been seeing for other mental health related matters. After hearing what my symptoms were, my doctor prescribed me medication but made it known that it usually takes one to two weeks before it starts to work on my symptoms (this is very common with antidepressant medication). At this point, I made the decision to return home (BC) a week before the Winter reading break as I felt it was my best chance at getting better and back into a state where I could begin to work on my studies.

After returning from reading week, my condition improved, and I was able to perform academically as per usual. However, on March 3, 2023, five days after returning from reading week, I sustained a head injury. On the day of, I went to Hotel Dieu Hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion and given instructions to rest, avoid bright light, electronic use, and anything that would aggravate symptoms. My concussion-related symptoms greatly affected my concentration, focus, and ability to attend class, complete assignments, and study for assessments. During the first three weeks post-concussion, I saw three doctors as my symptoms still had not improved. I was told because of my complicated medical history, having chronic migraines, undergoing neurosurgery in September 2022, diagnosed with ADHD in October 2022, and diagnosed with depression in February 2023, my concussion symptoms may take longer to recover from. After three weeks post-concussion, my symptoms became much worse. I first attempted to self-medicate but soon after I visited the Kingston General Hospital (KGH) as I found it unusual for my symptoms to take such a rapid decline three weeks post-concussion. From March 25th to March 28th, I went to the hospital three times, each time leaving with the instructions to take even more Tylenol and Advil than I had been previously taking. After my last hospital visit on March 28th proved to be unsuccessful in managing my symptoms, I made the hard decision to return to BC because I could no longer withstand the pain I was in and the inadequate health care I continued to receive. With that being said, the symptoms I was experiencing affected my ability to complete any coursework and attend any of my classes as I focussed on returning my health to a manageable state.

During the month of April, I continued to work with a number of medical professionals but struggled with side effects produced by a few different medications I was on, one being my ADHD medication. The side effects I experienced continued to impinge on my academics as I felt very ill during most parts of the day which made completing coursework and studying for exams challenging. For most of April, my doctor and I tried to find combinations of different medications that worked, ultimately taking me off my ADHD medication in hopes of minimizing side effects but leaving my ADHD symptoms unmedicated.

Today, I continue to struggle with my mental and physical health but have been slowly showing progress throughout the month of May. All things considered, it would be greatly appreciated if my petition letter and supporting documents be looked over as my extenuating circumstances impacted the majority of my Winter 2023 term despite the multiple attempts made to counteract my symptoms.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Christina Gee