Petition Letter
To whom it may concern,
I am submitting this appeal letter in order to request Aegrotat standing in BIOL 243. The reasons for this, including details and responsive measures, are outlined below.
A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Given my age and relatively healthy family history, it is considered rare and very surprising to my medical professionals. The tumour type is called astrocytoma, a cancer of the brain that originates in the glial cells called astrocytes.
The impacts of this are both physical and psychological. Since it is a brain tumour, it directly affects my ability to think and function. I get frequent headaches as well as more severe headaches that have required trips to the ER (that's how I got diagnosed). I have some memory trouble, such that sometimes I forget an event or I will get confused and not know what is going on. I have some trouble reading, especially unfamiliar concepts and longer texts. Likewise, I am experiencing some severe mood changes, and it has heightened previously existing depression and anxiety.
The effects of this circumstance are ongoing. In terms of academics, I have had difficulty concentrating, reading, and understanding concepts. I sometimes had difficulty with attendance. All of these things affect a student's fundamental capacity for achievement. For this course in particular, the concepts were foreign to me, and because of that I was proud of my performance for the first half of the semester. That was when I was experiencing symptoms and doing tests to acquire a diagnosis. However, after being diagnosed with this cancer that not even my doctors foresaw, the psychological impacts became overbearing and resulted in social withdrawal and severe inability to function. The physical symptoms have gotten worse as well; headaches have at times required me to leave class, and difficulty reading and understanding have impaired my ability to catch up and continue. I am currently awaiting treatment, and hope that if I need to take time away from academics that I can come back to Queen's ASAP.
To face my situation, I have a medical team including a neurosurgeon, neurologist, psychiatrist, personal counselor, and soon I will get an oncology team. I am also reaching out to cancer support groups.
Thank you very much for reading,
Bonnie Cai
I am submitting this appeal letter in order to request Aegrotat standing in BIOL 243. The reasons for this, including details and responsive measures, are outlined below.
A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Given my age and relatively healthy family history, it is considered rare and very surprising to my medical professionals. The tumour type is called astrocytoma, a cancer of the brain that originates in the glial cells called astrocytes.
The impacts of this are both physical and psychological. Since it is a brain tumour, it directly affects my ability to think and function. I get frequent headaches as well as more severe headaches that have required trips to the ER (that's how I got diagnosed). I have some memory trouble, such that sometimes I forget an event or I will get confused and not know what is going on. I have some trouble reading, especially unfamiliar concepts and longer texts. Likewise, I am experiencing some severe mood changes, and it has heightened previously existing depression and anxiety.
The effects of this circumstance are ongoing. In terms of academics, I have had difficulty concentrating, reading, and understanding concepts. I sometimes had difficulty with attendance. All of these things affect a student's fundamental capacity for achievement. For this course in particular, the concepts were foreign to me, and because of that I was proud of my performance for the first half of the semester. That was when I was experiencing symptoms and doing tests to acquire a diagnosis. However, after being diagnosed with this cancer that not even my doctors foresaw, the psychological impacts became overbearing and resulted in social withdrawal and severe inability to function. The physical symptoms have gotten worse as well; headaches have at times required me to leave class, and difficulty reading and understanding have impaired my ability to catch up and continue. I am currently awaiting treatment, and hope that if I need to take time away from academics that I can come back to Queen's ASAP.
To face my situation, I have a medical team including a neurosurgeon, neurologist, psychiatrist, personal counselor, and soon I will get an oncology team. I am also reaching out to cancer support groups.
Thank you very much for reading,
Bonnie Cai