Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies):
I am appealing to drop the following failed courses due to a physical illness from the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 semesters: HIST 201, ENGL 200, 278, 290 and 292.
I had a severe abscess develop in October 2014, causing an internal infection which led to excruciating complications and frequent visits to four different doctors from October to January 2015. The illness completely debilitated me, leaving me unable to move for weeks while causing intense agony. Around Oct. 13th I began to feel ill and my condition deteriorated. By Oct. 27th, the pain and fever were unbearable and I went to see a doctor at the CDK Clinic. I was prescribed the antibiotic Clindamycin and anti-inflammatory Meloxicam from Oct. 27th-Nov. 2nd. On Nov. 7th, I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and was back at the doctor¿¿s to be treated and was prescribed another antibiotic, Azithromycin from Nov. 7th-Nov. 11th. On Nov. 25th I saw another doctor at the clinic and was told I may need to get surgery and will need an MRI scan performed. The recovery was slow and gradual the next few weeks as I anxiously awaited an MRI scan. Around Dec. 26th, the problem arouse again. I spent all of New Year¿¿s Day in the Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital. I was treated and informed from the doctor at the Hotel Dieu Hospital that the initial antibiotic treatment from the doctor at the clinic was not the right decision and that it exasperated matters for me. He also informed me that the MRI scan was unnecessary and I never heard back from the clinic regarding the MRI scan. The next few weeks I slowly began regaining my health to a functional level. During Feb. and Mar. I worked as hard as I could and simply overestimated my ability to catch up with such an excessive workload after being so worn down. In early April the abscess returned and resulted in me being unable to attend my final exams. I treated myself at home for over two weeks with directions from several doctors and the illness alleviated itself at the end of the month. I have been in perfectly good health from May until now and feel driven more than ever to work hard and succeed. I have been in contact with my professors throughout the year and had been granted Incomplete Standings in the necessary courses, HIST 201 and ENGL 200, but was unable to catch up and was advised the best route to go is to drop the courses and redo my second year. Since there was only one final exam, I received an Aegrotat standing and a GPA of 3.0 in ENGL 234 during the Fall 2014 semester. In HIST 201 there were three exams in the semester so the professor suggested an Incomplete Status and I had the option of deferring two essays, an assignment and combining two exams into one. Since I became ill again during the winter holiday I was unable to work or prepare for the deferred assignments and exams, so that option became unfeasible and the professor agreed that dropping the course was a non-issue with him. In the full year courses, ENGL 200 and 292 I had missed so many lectures and became so far behind I found it was nearly impossible for me to catch up. With the burden of trying to catch up in my other courses I became swamped and my performance suffered as I fell behind in my Winter 2015 courses ENGL 278 and ENGL 290. Ultimately I had the option of deferring my final assignments and exams which amounted to such an excessive amount of work I could not succeed as well as I know I am capable of performing when I have an adequate amount of time and am in a functionally healthy condition.
It is difficult for me to put into words just how devastating this illness was. I am a healthy person who has never had any prior major health concerns, so this came as quite an unexpected shock. Being unable to receive the education and grades I am fully capable of attaining due to an illness was exceptionally difficult. I have been concerned about how these failed grades could affect my academic record and wanted to ensure that I was certainly healthy before I committed to the decision of redoing my second year courses. I am in excellent condition now and have learned a valuable lesson of how fragile human health can be. I am eating healthier and exercising more than I ever have before. I feel determined to succeed. Upon speaking with several Queen¿¿s Academic Advisors regarding my options, I feel assured that dropping these courses is the correct course of action. I am an adept learner and a hardworking student that was placed on the Dean¿¿s Honours List after my first year in 2014 with a 3.59 GPA. These failed courses are a terrible burden and will tarnish my academic record, simply due to the fact that I became physically ill. I know I can succeed and am eager to move forward now that I am healthy again. I have a 2.08 GPA with the failed grades and was able to enroll in Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 courses. I plan to retake the courses available to retake and redo my second year towards my major in English and complete my Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours) to the best of my ability. In conclusion, I would love to move on from this illness which has been brutally devastating. Having these failed courses dropped would remove the burden of a damaged academic record and will allow me to move on from this distressing ordeal.
Sincerely,
Andrew Lantz
10113218
I am appealing to drop the following failed courses due to a physical illness from the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 semesters: HIST 201, ENGL 200, 278, 290 and 292.
I had a severe abscess develop in October 2014, causing an internal infection which led to excruciating complications and frequent visits to four different doctors from October to January 2015. The illness completely debilitated me, leaving me unable to move for weeks while causing intense agony. Around Oct. 13th I began to feel ill and my condition deteriorated. By Oct. 27th, the pain and fever were unbearable and I went to see a doctor at the CDK Clinic. I was prescribed the antibiotic Clindamycin and anti-inflammatory Meloxicam from Oct. 27th-Nov. 2nd. On Nov. 7th, I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and was back at the doctor¿¿s to be treated and was prescribed another antibiotic, Azithromycin from Nov. 7th-Nov. 11th. On Nov. 25th I saw another doctor at the clinic and was told I may need to get surgery and will need an MRI scan performed. The recovery was slow and gradual the next few weeks as I anxiously awaited an MRI scan. Around Dec. 26th, the problem arouse again. I spent all of New Year¿¿s Day in the Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital. I was treated and informed from the doctor at the Hotel Dieu Hospital that the initial antibiotic treatment from the doctor at the clinic was not the right decision and that it exasperated matters for me. He also informed me that the MRI scan was unnecessary and I never heard back from the clinic regarding the MRI scan. The next few weeks I slowly began regaining my health to a functional level. During Feb. and Mar. I worked as hard as I could and simply overestimated my ability to catch up with such an excessive workload after being so worn down. In early April the abscess returned and resulted in me being unable to attend my final exams. I treated myself at home for over two weeks with directions from several doctors and the illness alleviated itself at the end of the month. I have been in perfectly good health from May until now and feel driven more than ever to work hard and succeed. I have been in contact with my professors throughout the year and had been granted Incomplete Standings in the necessary courses, HIST 201 and ENGL 200, but was unable to catch up and was advised the best route to go is to drop the courses and redo my second year. Since there was only one final exam, I received an Aegrotat standing and a GPA of 3.0 in ENGL 234 during the Fall 2014 semester. In HIST 201 there were three exams in the semester so the professor suggested an Incomplete Status and I had the option of deferring two essays, an assignment and combining two exams into one. Since I became ill again during the winter holiday I was unable to work or prepare for the deferred assignments and exams, so that option became unfeasible and the professor agreed that dropping the course was a non-issue with him. In the full year courses, ENGL 200 and 292 I had missed so many lectures and became so far behind I found it was nearly impossible for me to catch up. With the burden of trying to catch up in my other courses I became swamped and my performance suffered as I fell behind in my Winter 2015 courses ENGL 278 and ENGL 290. Ultimately I had the option of deferring my final assignments and exams which amounted to such an excessive amount of work I could not succeed as well as I know I am capable of performing when I have an adequate amount of time and am in a functionally healthy condition.
It is difficult for me to put into words just how devastating this illness was. I am a healthy person who has never had any prior major health concerns, so this came as quite an unexpected shock. Being unable to receive the education and grades I am fully capable of attaining due to an illness was exceptionally difficult. I have been concerned about how these failed grades could affect my academic record and wanted to ensure that I was certainly healthy before I committed to the decision of redoing my second year courses. I am in excellent condition now and have learned a valuable lesson of how fragile human health can be. I am eating healthier and exercising more than I ever have before. I feel determined to succeed. Upon speaking with several Queen¿¿s Academic Advisors regarding my options, I feel assured that dropping these courses is the correct course of action. I am an adept learner and a hardworking student that was placed on the Dean¿¿s Honours List after my first year in 2014 with a 3.59 GPA. These failed courses are a terrible burden and will tarnish my academic record, simply due to the fact that I became physically ill. I know I can succeed and am eager to move forward now that I am healthy again. I have a 2.08 GPA with the failed grades and was able to enroll in Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 courses. I plan to retake the courses available to retake and redo my second year towards my major in English and complete my Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours) to the best of my ability. In conclusion, I would love to move on from this illness which has been brutally devastating. Having these failed courses dropped would remove the burden of a damaged academic record and will allow me to move on from this distressing ordeal.
Sincerely,
Andrew Lantz
10113218