Petition Letter
To whom it may concern,
I am appealing to drop EMPR 240, EMPR 260, and POLS 387 from the Winter 2022 term.
In September 2021, I hit my head twice while volunteering with the Alma Mater Society??s Orientation Roundtable Committee. I hit my head once on September 18th and again on September 19th and was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion at Hotel Dieu by Dr. K. Graham on September 22nd. I received academic accommodations for my concussion from Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) on September 28th. When I was diagnosed with my concussion, it was projected that I may recover in a week or two. However, this was my second concussion, the first occurring in the Fall of 2017, and the recovery period extended far beyond the projected timeline. 16 months after my injury, I still struggle with post-concussion syndrome.
I have been experiencing heightened anxiety and depressive symptomology since my concussion diagnosis. I was previously diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2015 but I have struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember. I have been registered with Queen??s Student Accessibility Services since the summer of 2018. I have continued to struggle with Generalized Anxiety Disorder throughout my time at Queen??s. The impact of my concussion diagnosis led to a significant deterioration in my mental health. During the week of November 8th, 2021, I met with both my family doctor and psychologist. They both concluded that I am experiencing depressive symptomology triggered by my head injury.
As a result of my struggles with post-concussion syndrome and heightened anxiety and depressive symptomology, I dropped my Fall 2021 Term courses to focus on my recovery with the goal of being able to return to full-time studies in January 2022.
During the first two months of the Winter 2022 Term semester, I continued to struggle with post-concussion syndrome and anxiety and depressive symptomology but it was manageable at first. At the time of the drop deadline (March 4th), I was confident that I was going to be able to manage my symptoms and be able to complete the courses as I had been working closely with my family doctor and psychologist on my recovery. With that being said, during the month of March my progress with my concussion recovery and mental health journey took a turn for the worse. Shortly after the drop deadline, I had to take a COVID-19 related absence (March 19th to 25th). Furthermore, I had a bad fall at the end of March which triggered severe concussion symptoms.
After facing these challenges during the month of March, at the beginning of April I decided to request incomplete grades in my courses to allow me to have the Summer 2022 Term to complete the remainder of my course material. This would allow me to take some time to focus on my health without losing the progress I had made earlier in the semester. At the time of making this request, I was confident that I would be able to complete the courses over the summer semester. All three of my professors graciously agreed to give me incomplete grades.
In mid-April, a few weeks after receiving incomplete grades, my uncle experienced a life-threatening medical emergency and was unresponsive for 48 hours. We later discovered that he was experiencing organ failure. This news was devastating to myself and my family. As of March 2023, my uncle is still facing some serious health challenges. After learning about my uncle??s life-threatening health conditions completing these courses became unmanageable. I found myself being consumed by my anxiety and depressive symptomology which made it tremendously difficult for me to take care of myself. Specifically, it negatively impacted my sleep and my ability to perform basic self-care practices. To address this, I met consistently with my psychologist and adjusted my medication. In the past year, my medication for my Generalized Anxiety Disorder has been adjusted three times. With that being said, each time my medication was adjusted my body struggled to adapt. Additionally, my progress with post-concussion syndrome seemingly plateaued. I found myself continuing to struggle with extreme fatigue, decreased concentration, memory loss, headaches, and challenges with reading and writing. Despite working closely with my family doctor, Dr. Marchetti and my psychologist, Dr. Brown to combat my physical and mental health issues I continued to struggle with my health issues well into the Fall of 2022. I received additional support and guidance from Gail Motut who is a Support Services Coordinator at Queen??s and Meg Hall my Student Accessibility Advisor.
During my recovery period, I decided to change my degree to a Bachelor of Arts Degree from a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree. This will allow me to begin pursuing my passion for Human Resource Management sooner. With this change, I now have three courses left to complete to obtain my degree. After taking the time to prioritize my physical and mental health for the remainder of 2022, I have now focused on completing the final three courses required to obtain my degree. Currently, I am enrolled in two transfer credits at Athabasca University. By taking the courses at Athabasca I am able to complete the courses at a slower pace which allows me to divide my focus between my studies and mental and physical health. I will begin my final course in May of 2023. I have been accepted into two Human Resources Management graduate certificate programs for the Fall of 2023.
Given the above-detailed circumstances, I firmly believe that it was in my best interest to focus on my family circumstances, my concussion recovery and my mental health. Thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal to drop EMPR 240, EMPR 260, and POLS 387 (Winter, 2022) without academic penalty.
All the best,
Emma Patton
I am appealing to drop EMPR 240, EMPR 260, and POLS 387 from the Winter 2022 term.
In September 2021, I hit my head twice while volunteering with the Alma Mater Society??s Orientation Roundtable Committee. I hit my head once on September 18th and again on September 19th and was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion at Hotel Dieu by Dr. K. Graham on September 22nd. I received academic accommodations for my concussion from Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) on September 28th. When I was diagnosed with my concussion, it was projected that I may recover in a week or two. However, this was my second concussion, the first occurring in the Fall of 2017, and the recovery period extended far beyond the projected timeline. 16 months after my injury, I still struggle with post-concussion syndrome.
I have been experiencing heightened anxiety and depressive symptomology since my concussion diagnosis. I was previously diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2015 but I have struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember. I have been registered with Queen??s Student Accessibility Services since the summer of 2018. I have continued to struggle with Generalized Anxiety Disorder throughout my time at Queen??s. The impact of my concussion diagnosis led to a significant deterioration in my mental health. During the week of November 8th, 2021, I met with both my family doctor and psychologist. They both concluded that I am experiencing depressive symptomology triggered by my head injury.
As a result of my struggles with post-concussion syndrome and heightened anxiety and depressive symptomology, I dropped my Fall 2021 Term courses to focus on my recovery with the goal of being able to return to full-time studies in January 2022.
During the first two months of the Winter 2022 Term semester, I continued to struggle with post-concussion syndrome and anxiety and depressive symptomology but it was manageable at first. At the time of the drop deadline (March 4th), I was confident that I was going to be able to manage my symptoms and be able to complete the courses as I had been working closely with my family doctor and psychologist on my recovery. With that being said, during the month of March my progress with my concussion recovery and mental health journey took a turn for the worse. Shortly after the drop deadline, I had to take a COVID-19 related absence (March 19th to 25th). Furthermore, I had a bad fall at the end of March which triggered severe concussion symptoms.
After facing these challenges during the month of March, at the beginning of April I decided to request incomplete grades in my courses to allow me to have the Summer 2022 Term to complete the remainder of my course material. This would allow me to take some time to focus on my health without losing the progress I had made earlier in the semester. At the time of making this request, I was confident that I would be able to complete the courses over the summer semester. All three of my professors graciously agreed to give me incomplete grades.
In mid-April, a few weeks after receiving incomplete grades, my uncle experienced a life-threatening medical emergency and was unresponsive for 48 hours. We later discovered that he was experiencing organ failure. This news was devastating to myself and my family. As of March 2023, my uncle is still facing some serious health challenges. After learning about my uncle??s life-threatening health conditions completing these courses became unmanageable. I found myself being consumed by my anxiety and depressive symptomology which made it tremendously difficult for me to take care of myself. Specifically, it negatively impacted my sleep and my ability to perform basic self-care practices. To address this, I met consistently with my psychologist and adjusted my medication. In the past year, my medication for my Generalized Anxiety Disorder has been adjusted three times. With that being said, each time my medication was adjusted my body struggled to adapt. Additionally, my progress with post-concussion syndrome seemingly plateaued. I found myself continuing to struggle with extreme fatigue, decreased concentration, memory loss, headaches, and challenges with reading and writing. Despite working closely with my family doctor, Dr. Marchetti and my psychologist, Dr. Brown to combat my physical and mental health issues I continued to struggle with my health issues well into the Fall of 2022. I received additional support and guidance from Gail Motut who is a Support Services Coordinator at Queen??s and Meg Hall my Student Accessibility Advisor.
During my recovery period, I decided to change my degree to a Bachelor of Arts Degree from a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree. This will allow me to begin pursuing my passion for Human Resource Management sooner. With this change, I now have three courses left to complete to obtain my degree. After taking the time to prioritize my physical and mental health for the remainder of 2022, I have now focused on completing the final three courses required to obtain my degree. Currently, I am enrolled in two transfer credits at Athabasca University. By taking the courses at Athabasca I am able to complete the courses at a slower pace which allows me to divide my focus between my studies and mental and physical health. I will begin my final course in May of 2023. I have been accepted into two Human Resources Management graduate certificate programs for the Fall of 2023.
Given the above-detailed circumstances, I firmly believe that it was in my best interest to focus on my family circumstances, my concussion recovery and my mental health. Thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal to drop EMPR 240, EMPR 260, and POLS 387 (Winter, 2022) without academic penalty.
All the best,
Emma Patton