Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans,

My name is Rachel Mendelson and I am a third year Health Studies student. I am writing this appeal to you as I have experienced various extenuating circumstances throughout the academic school year of 2018/2019. The following will explain these circumstances and why I feel the need to appeal 5 out of the 7 courses I am currently enrolled in.

I have had Juvenile Arthritis my whole life, as well as General Anxiety Disorder since I was 8 years old, and have been registered with QSAS since I began my studies at Queen¿¿s in the fall of 2016. On October 31st of 2018, I became sick with a sinus infection and strep throat simultaneously. I completed all school work during this time, including midterms and midterm essays. However, because I have arthritis, complications can arise when my immune system is compromised. As I became more sick, I slowly lost my ability to move my neck, and subsequently could not walk, sit up, or turn over in bed without severe pain. I continued to attempt my school work, but I was unable to.

On November 19th 2018, my mother came to Kingston from Montreal to get me, as I could not drive back to Montreal. Upon my return to home, I reached out to 6 different health practitioners: my physician, my rheumatologist, a neurologist, a physiotherapist, an osteopath, and an acupuncturist, and applied for Extenuating Circumstances through the Faculty of Arts and Science beginning on November 19th 2018, as well as notify QSAS. On November 22nd 2018, I saw my physician (for the first appointment of three) concerning my situation. She referred me to get an X-ray, an MRI, and to the neurologist for further investigation. The MRIs indicated that four of the discs between my vertebrae in my neck (C2,C3 and C3,C4 on both sides) were dehydrated, which was the cause of my pain, my inability to move, and the excruciating headaches I was experiencing. The neurologist then issued a requisition for cortisone injections for these discs on December 3rd 2018. During the time between November 22nd and December 20th 2018 I was seeing my physiotherapist, my osteopath, and my acupuncturist, the latter of which I saw twice a week until I received my first cortisone injections. As well, I saw my rheumatologist on December 4th 2018, and prescribed muscle relaxants and dilaudid for my pain and inability to sleep. From then until I received my injections, I was sleeping an average of 14 hours a day. I received my first round of cortisone on December 20th 2018. Sleeping so much and not having the ability to move throughout this time took a heavy toll on my mental health.

I returned to Queen¿¿s on January 10th, two days after my second set of cortisone injections. I did not realize it at the time, but I was falling into a depression. Although I tried to keep up with my classes and schoolwork, I began to fall behind. It was at this point that I reached out to a private psychologist in Kingston, whom I have been seeing weekly with few exceptions. I have been working on my mental health with her and on my own, but it¿¿s taking time to get back to where I used to be in terms of wellness. Due to the time I¿¿ve been taking to recover psychologically, I have been unable to complete some of my school work during this winter semester of 2019.

As I take my school work seriously, I don¿¿t want these two semesters to reflect my abilities. I have 3 incompletes on my transcript from Fall 2018 and would like to appeal and retake two of these courses (HLTH 315 & HLTH 323) next year to improve my academic standing in better health. Additionally, I would like to appeal all three of my courses from this semester (HLTH 305, HLTH 333, & HLTH 350), which I have not been able to keep up with due to my circumstances. I am able to complete 2 of my courses from last semester (HLTH 332 & LAW 201); I do not want the work I did to go to waste and would like to keep working to prove to myself that I can do it.

I have attached documentation of my various doctors appointments and therapy sessions.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,
Sincerely,

Rachel