Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
My name is Amanda Shum and I am in my fourth year of studies at the Faculty of Computing. I am writing to you in request of an Aegretat grade for JAPN 100 and CISC 332, courses that I took in Winter 2024. I had originally taken 4 courses last semester, but had to return to my hometown of Vancouver, BC in late March 2024 and from early April 2024 due to ongoing family emergencies involving my grandmother and mother.
Throughout my life, I have always held the philosophy of family first, something that has been instilled in me since I was a child. Seeing my own parent’s caretaking for my grandparents for most of my life, I was brought up knowing that I will eventually see the day when I will have to take care of my parents. As an only child, I have countless memories spending time with my grandparents, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, taken on a few responsibilities that have shaped the growth in my relationship with them. Once or twice a week, I would drive over to their house and have a meal with my grandparents and take them grocery shopping. This became something I looked forward to every week since the pandemic hit. After all these years, even continuing when I could after I left for university, carries the bond I have with my grandparents.
I had first left Kingston on March 23, 2024 when I received a phone call from home in the middle of the night notifying me that my grandmother had been admitted to Cardiac ICU for an aortic dissection, Type B, and would not likely make it past 72 hours. Immediately, I broke into tears as I was far away from home and was quite literally hopeless. I was conflicted; should I return home, or carry on my studies because it was a critical part of term? With a lot of coaxing from my peers and my friends, I made the decision to return home on the next available flight. In that moment, my friends had set up their computers, bought me the last train ticket out of Kingston and the earliest morning flight back to Vancouver. I could never repay them for their kindness in paying for me and waving for me to go because they knew how much this meant to me to hopefully make it back to see her. When I did see my grandma in ICU, struggling to breathe, and looking very weak, I became very emotional to the reality of what I was seeing. But in the end, what could I have done? Over the course of the week that I stayed, I drove my family to and from the hospital, doing the best I could to support my mother, who spent countless nights in the hospital looking after her mother. Days go by, and I felt that there was nothing left I could do, so I opted to return to Kingston to continue my studies.
At this point, I had continued to complete my course work to the best of my ability, meanwhile continuing to be on cautious alert for a phone call that I would expect to have grim news. Not even a week after I had returned to Kingston, I received another phone call on the evening of April the 8th, to the voice of my father. For the first time, he seemed at a loss of words. He was never the type to show weakness, yet he seemed at a struggle to find the words to say that my mother had been urgently rushed into ICU for life saving surgery. The reason? The same as my grandma, an aortic dissection, Type A. I was at a loss for words. My eyes filled with tears, being told that I faced the possibility that my mother could die, and I was not there. My friends looked at me, and immediately came to comfort me as they once again booked tickets for the next flight out to Vancouver. All the information I was given at the time were that my mother has been rushed into an 8 hour heart surgery with the chance that she may not make it out. Next thing I knew, I was on the 2am bus out of Kingston, a 9am flight out to Vancouver, and finally at the hospital. It was all a blur. At that point, I only had the update that she had made it out of surgery. I was rushed into Cardiac ICU to see her, and I was in disbelief and shocked. Seeing my own mother hooked up to so many tubes when just over a week ago, stood to wave me goodbye at the airport. I later learned how she ended up in such a position, that as a result of the stress over my grandmother, the fact that she was the only one that would put her all into caring for her, whilst balancing her own work at her job, had collapsed at a restaurant. Being told that as my mother was being rushed into hospital that the ambulance attendants were the same, the nurses were the same, the same surgeon that had seen my grandmother two weeks before was the same… sounds all like a fairytale, except that it was reality. Even the surgeon “could not imagine a mother and daughter in the same place for the same thing”. That was when I knew my life has changed.
I mention multiple times of an aortic dissection. To a regular Joe, this would not seem serious. But the severity of an aortic dissection is extreme and could challenge a brain injury for being the most critical. An aortic dissection, I have since learned, could fall into two categories, Type A and Type B. With a Type B, a surgery or medication could potentially repair the damage. With a Type A, there is no choice but a surgery to repair the aorta. Knowing how close my mother came to death scared me, as she had Type A. It was a matter of a few hours had she not been admitted to hospital as early as she was. My mother spent the following weeks in the hospital, barely having the strength to move or eat. She was the youngest amongst other patients in the same position, being 20 years younger than the next patient. She has since been recuperating at home after being released by the hospital, but continues with side effect such as headaches, chest pains, and difficulties eating, walking, bathing, amongst other things.
Since my mother has been in hospital, my father and I have been left to take on extra errands left by my mother. As my mother continues to recover and recuperate, I have taken on being her primary caretaker, cooking, feeding, bathing, and assisting with rehabilitation amongst other things. This takes up the bulk of my day as she requires assistance with her daily life. I am only able to work at night or times where I am freed up when I am not required to assist.
The past month’s events have greatly impacted me. As a result, it has changed my life forever. There is no telling whether my mother will ever fully recover from such a life changing surgery, although my family is optimistic she will be able to take care of herself, or as least the basic functions in the next 6 months. I have never imagined myself being thrust into this position so early in my life. There are many worries that come from these events, including the very real possibility that I may be in the same position as my mother and grandma in the future. There is only one way of putting it, being traumatized. I still cannot fully comprehend nor accept that grave responsibility that I now hold for taking care of my mother. I can only slowly come to terms with what has happened, and it will take time for me to fully accept this reality.
I continue to be committed towards my studies. I understand the responsibilities of completing all the learning outcomes and coursework for course completion. I realize that these events have made me quite emotional to any connection of the last month. I am terrified of reminding myself of what has happened over the last month. I do not wish to be reminded of what I have been through over the last month.
As it stands, after talking to both professors, they understand my decision to pursue an AG. At this point in the two courses, I am only missing a final exam grade, because I missed the final exams for both courses. I respectively accept any decision made in regards to my request for an AG, and if so, may talk to the professors again to talk about an alternate plan.
As I move forward, I still want to preoccupy myself over the summer with some work to keep my mind off of the burden that I shoulder. I have chosen to do two online classes for that reason. It may come as a surprise for making that decision when I could complete the two classes from last semester, but I truly do not want to have anything to do with last month. As my schedule changes with assisting with my mother’s recovery process, I recognize that it is an adjustment period for me and my family to come to terms with the long term effects of my mother’s health. I can work on some light work when I wait during my mother’s appointments or when she goes to bed. I may also have to assist with caretaking my grandmother as well, taking turns with my father as she now relies on an oxygen tank for breathing and cannot do most of her daily tasks without some assistance. The courses I have chosen, that being SPAN111 and ECON111 satisfy my interests while moving forward with my academic requirements. I remain committed to my studies while I navigate this period of time.
Regards,
Amanda Shum
20206096
My name is Amanda Shum and I am in my fourth year of studies at the Faculty of Computing. I am writing to you in request of an Aegretat grade for JAPN 100 and CISC 332, courses that I took in Winter 2024. I had originally taken 4 courses last semester, but had to return to my hometown of Vancouver, BC in late March 2024 and from early April 2024 due to ongoing family emergencies involving my grandmother and mother.
Throughout my life, I have always held the philosophy of family first, something that has been instilled in me since I was a child. Seeing my own parent’s caretaking for my grandparents for most of my life, I was brought up knowing that I will eventually see the day when I will have to take care of my parents. As an only child, I have countless memories spending time with my grandparents, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, taken on a few responsibilities that have shaped the growth in my relationship with them. Once or twice a week, I would drive over to their house and have a meal with my grandparents and take them grocery shopping. This became something I looked forward to every week since the pandemic hit. After all these years, even continuing when I could after I left for university, carries the bond I have with my grandparents.
I had first left Kingston on March 23, 2024 when I received a phone call from home in the middle of the night notifying me that my grandmother had been admitted to Cardiac ICU for an aortic dissection, Type B, and would not likely make it past 72 hours. Immediately, I broke into tears as I was far away from home and was quite literally hopeless. I was conflicted; should I return home, or carry on my studies because it was a critical part of term? With a lot of coaxing from my peers and my friends, I made the decision to return home on the next available flight. In that moment, my friends had set up their computers, bought me the last train ticket out of Kingston and the earliest morning flight back to Vancouver. I could never repay them for their kindness in paying for me and waving for me to go because they knew how much this meant to me to hopefully make it back to see her. When I did see my grandma in ICU, struggling to breathe, and looking very weak, I became very emotional to the reality of what I was seeing. But in the end, what could I have done? Over the course of the week that I stayed, I drove my family to and from the hospital, doing the best I could to support my mother, who spent countless nights in the hospital looking after her mother. Days go by, and I felt that there was nothing left I could do, so I opted to return to Kingston to continue my studies.
At this point, I had continued to complete my course work to the best of my ability, meanwhile continuing to be on cautious alert for a phone call that I would expect to have grim news. Not even a week after I had returned to Kingston, I received another phone call on the evening of April the 8th, to the voice of my father. For the first time, he seemed at a loss of words. He was never the type to show weakness, yet he seemed at a struggle to find the words to say that my mother had been urgently rushed into ICU for life saving surgery. The reason? The same as my grandma, an aortic dissection, Type A. I was at a loss for words. My eyes filled with tears, being told that I faced the possibility that my mother could die, and I was not there. My friends looked at me, and immediately came to comfort me as they once again booked tickets for the next flight out to Vancouver. All the information I was given at the time were that my mother has been rushed into an 8 hour heart surgery with the chance that she may not make it out. Next thing I knew, I was on the 2am bus out of Kingston, a 9am flight out to Vancouver, and finally at the hospital. It was all a blur. At that point, I only had the update that she had made it out of surgery. I was rushed into Cardiac ICU to see her, and I was in disbelief and shocked. Seeing my own mother hooked up to so many tubes when just over a week ago, stood to wave me goodbye at the airport. I later learned how she ended up in such a position, that as a result of the stress over my grandmother, the fact that she was the only one that would put her all into caring for her, whilst balancing her own work at her job, had collapsed at a restaurant. Being told that as my mother was being rushed into hospital that the ambulance attendants were the same, the nurses were the same, the same surgeon that had seen my grandmother two weeks before was the same… sounds all like a fairytale, except that it was reality. Even the surgeon “could not imagine a mother and daughter in the same place for the same thing”. That was when I knew my life has changed.
I mention multiple times of an aortic dissection. To a regular Joe, this would not seem serious. But the severity of an aortic dissection is extreme and could challenge a brain injury for being the most critical. An aortic dissection, I have since learned, could fall into two categories, Type A and Type B. With a Type B, a surgery or medication could potentially repair the damage. With a Type A, there is no choice but a surgery to repair the aorta. Knowing how close my mother came to death scared me, as she had Type A. It was a matter of a few hours had she not been admitted to hospital as early as she was. My mother spent the following weeks in the hospital, barely having the strength to move or eat. She was the youngest amongst other patients in the same position, being 20 years younger than the next patient. She has since been recuperating at home after being released by the hospital, but continues with side effect such as headaches, chest pains, and difficulties eating, walking, bathing, amongst other things.
Since my mother has been in hospital, my father and I have been left to take on extra errands left by my mother. As my mother continues to recover and recuperate, I have taken on being her primary caretaker, cooking, feeding, bathing, and assisting with rehabilitation amongst other things. This takes up the bulk of my day as she requires assistance with her daily life. I am only able to work at night or times where I am freed up when I am not required to assist.
The past month’s events have greatly impacted me. As a result, it has changed my life forever. There is no telling whether my mother will ever fully recover from such a life changing surgery, although my family is optimistic she will be able to take care of herself, or as least the basic functions in the next 6 months. I have never imagined myself being thrust into this position so early in my life. There are many worries that come from these events, including the very real possibility that I may be in the same position as my mother and grandma in the future. There is only one way of putting it, being traumatized. I still cannot fully comprehend nor accept that grave responsibility that I now hold for taking care of my mother. I can only slowly come to terms with what has happened, and it will take time for me to fully accept this reality.
I continue to be committed towards my studies. I understand the responsibilities of completing all the learning outcomes and coursework for course completion. I realize that these events have made me quite emotional to any connection of the last month. I am terrified of reminding myself of what has happened over the last month. I do not wish to be reminded of what I have been through over the last month.
As it stands, after talking to both professors, they understand my decision to pursue an AG. At this point in the two courses, I am only missing a final exam grade, because I missed the final exams for both courses. I respectively accept any decision made in regards to my request for an AG, and if so, may talk to the professors again to talk about an alternate plan.
As I move forward, I still want to preoccupy myself over the summer with some work to keep my mind off of the burden that I shoulder. I have chosen to do two online classes for that reason. It may come as a surprise for making that decision when I could complete the two classes from last semester, but I truly do not want to have anything to do with last month. As my schedule changes with assisting with my mother’s recovery process, I recognize that it is an adjustment period for me and my family to come to terms with the long term effects of my mother’s health. I can work on some light work when I wait during my mother’s appointments or when she goes to bed. I may also have to assist with caretaking my grandmother as well, taking turns with my father as she now relies on an oxygen tank for breathing and cannot do most of her daily tasks without some assistance. The courses I have chosen, that being SPAN111 and ECON111 satisfy my interests while moving forward with my academic requirements. I remain committed to my studies while I navigate this period of time.
Regards,
Amanda Shum
20206096