Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter regarding the request to drop ANAT315 and KNPE251 after the academic deadline.
I am a current second year Kinesiology undergraduate student at Queen¿¿s University, who has been registered with Queen¿¿s Student Accessibility Services since December 14th of the last year, 2017, right after sustaining a severe concussion on Sunday, December 10th, 2017. It was supposed to be just another game, playing the sport I have always played, soccer; however, that night ended differently, in an ambulance heading to KGH. It was during final exams period and thanks to QSAS - after submitting documentation from both KGH and Dr. Wilkinson (Student Wellness Services) -, accommodations were put in place and I was able to write my exams in the same week, despite the symptoms that would arise ¿¿ dizziness, pressure in the head, nausea and therefore, trouble with concentrating. During the 2018 winter term, I have been accompanied by both my doctors back home, Brazil, as well as Kingston local doctors ¿¿ Dr.O¿¿Connor, Queen¿¿s athletes physician, and Dr. Bonni, neurologist at Hotel Dieu. Several medical exams were also done (attached documentation). After being cleared, in the end of February, there were days I would still feel the described symptoms; however, I was feeling gradually better and thought I was recovered. On April 13th, I was playing basketball with my friends as a study break, and it was when my vision got blurry and then black, I could not see anything and felt fainting sensations. After that moment, my symptoms returned, but way worse than before. I experienced serious headaches, nausea, pressure in the head, dizziness, blurred vision, different pupil sizes, fever and pass out sensations, which made it hard for me to even walk. That week, I returned to KGH emergency and the doctor came up with the hypothesis that I was experiencing a Post-Concussion Syndrome. I had an exam on that same day, which I tried to write as I felt prepared for it and did not want to miss it; however, could not resist more than 30 minutes in the room without feeling all the symptoms and being about to faint. After the exams were over, I went back to Brazil, on a wheel-chair as I could barely walk, consulted my doctors there and went through another series of medical tests to reach the Post-Concussion Syndrome diagnostic.
I came back to Canada, in the middle of May of this year. But instead of doing what I had initially planned to ¿¿ train with my coaches to prepare myself for the Queen¿¿s soccer team training camp and season that I was expecting to play ¿¿ I returned in order to solve the exams situation, write a test that I was not able to, conclude an online summer course to compensate and of course, keep following up with my physicians and physiotherapists from here. Since April 13th, when the spike in my symptoms surprised me, I have been going through a difficult recovery process and following all steps to get back to my normal. Before the beginning of this term, I saw my Academic Advisor a couple times and it was discussed about taking the whole course load. I believed I was able to handle it - with the support of accommodations, physician appointments and physiotherapy - and decided to enrol in the five mandatory courses for this term in addition to my program internship. Nevertheless, turned out that the work load has been more than I can take it at the moment, especially the courses which require more memory usage and laboratory activities, as ANA315 and KNPE251. During the first months, although not being present in the laboratories as I normally would - due to the dizziness and visual impairment which make it harder to deal with diverse stimuli, mainly when walking and remaining in smaller rooms participating in activities ¿¿ I still wanted to believe I would be able to handle the courses and the exams as I have always done. I resisted to drop the courses during the permitted period, I wanted to prove to myself that I still had my intelligence and did not want to lose for the concussion. However, after being frustrated, disappointed and ashamed enough, I got the point of noticing that it is not because I have lost any ability neither because I am not capable, but it is a period of time in which I do have to respect my limits, and allowing myself to take it easier than I was used to, in order to be fully recovered, is no shame. I tried to overcome the symptoms, tried to control dizziness, pressures in the head and visual blurriness. I persisted until I failed, and I learned that there are some things I cannot control but I can always adjust my routine to deal with the same responsibilities but respecting my current conditions. Thus, for the next semester, I plan to decrease my work load by taking four courses which I will be able to successfully complete and take one in the summer. By doing so, I will be distributing the work and consequently, contributing to both my recovery and academics.