Petition Letter
On January 1st, 2016 I was hit by a CP train. I was incredibly lucky to survive. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and many other internal injuries. I spent two months in Intensive Care and two months in a Rehabilitation Hospital. My life has not been the same since that day.
Adjusting to University when I started at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2017 was much harder than I expected it would be. I was not able to manage getting used to living away from home and managing my coursework while staying on top of my physical and mental health in the way I thought I should. But I thought it was up to me to figure it all out, so I didn¿¿t tell anyone how much trouble I was having, and I didn¿¿t ask for help. I finished first year on academic probation.
Things became even more difficult when I had a grand mal seizure in June of 2018. I suffered a concussion, facial injuries and dental damage requiring major orthodontic work. I was diagnosed with epilepsy (a direct result of being struck by the train). I started taking Keppra, a drug whose known side effects include drowsiness and low energy.
I spent the summer trying to recover and get ready to return to Queens for second year, but I worried about how I would do it. My plan was to sit down with an academic advisor when I got there, to make an academic plan that would work for me.
Within the first week of getting back to Queens for second year, I had a second grand mal seizure. I was picked by an ambulance and rushed to Kingston General Hospital. The following day by sister Jordan (Class of Queens 2018) picked me up and brought me back to Toronto to recuperate and made plans to see both my Neurologist and Orthodontist for my broken teeth. The ensuing weeks were spent visiting Sunnybrook Hospital and my neurologist as well as resting and recovering at home. Dr. Lam increased my dosage of Keppra and stressed the importance of constantly being aware of my physical and mental health.
This incident and its aftermath caused me to miss insert number weeks of school. By the time I was both physically and mentally prepared to return to Queens University, I was not able to play catch up after missing so much of the Fall semester. It was at this time that I should have notified Queen¿¿s about my desperate situation. Things just sort of snowballed from there and it was a constant struggle, one I could not at that time overcome. It was easy to lose track of my academic standing with everything that I had experienced in the prior weeks. It wasn¿¿t the cuts on my body or face that were difficult to manage, it was the effects of the increased dosage of Keppra as well as the unease of a potential third seizure.
All of this made it impossible for me to keep up with my academic obligations but again, I felt it was up to me to carry on and I told no-one and didn¿¿t ask for help.
I felt paralyzed and ashamed. I didn¿¿t want to disappoint my parents or other people who care about me, so I kept it all from them. I basically stuck my head in the sand. I even returned to Kingston under the pretext of entering third year, because I was unable to face the reality of my situation.
I have included in my appeal package a letter from Dr. Benjamin Lam, my treating neurologist. By reading his letter and through work with a therapist that I started seeing in mid October and am still working with, I now understand that my problems with keeping up with my coursework and my inability to deal with them effectively were directly related to my brain injury and seizure disorder. It¿¿s hard for me to accept that I am not to blame, my disability is. Now that I understand that, I am determined to make changes to help me return to Queen¿¿s and succeed. My academic plan is also attached.
As of today, I have been seizure free for almost fourteen months and I am feeling more confident everyday that with the right academic plan in place, I am very capable to resume my enrollment at Queens. I have almost completed my transition onto new epilepsy medication, (Lamotrigine) and I will be tapering off of Keppra in the upcoming weeks. The new medication doesn¿¿t come with the same negative side effects which will be a life changer for me as Keppra would keep me in a cycle of fatigue and exhaustion.
Now that you know the whole story, I hope that you will understand the need for compassionate understanding and accommodation of my disability and grant my appeal. I would be happy to meet with you to discuss any aspect of my request.
Sincerely,
Niall McConnell
Academic Plan
With the right academic plan in place while working closely with my parents and neurologist I am fully capable of staying on top of my course load. My course selection in previous years have never included a direct plan with a major in mind that I would be interested in pursuing. The courses in which I found the lectures most engaging while also managing the course work, have always involved geography. I plan on working towards my degree with a major in geography. I have found two geography courses that I will be eligible to enroll in in January as well as a history and astronomy course to round out my schedule.
After talking it over with my neurologist as well as my parents we came to the agreement that enrolling in three courses is the ideal workload to carry when returning to school. It will provide the perfect amount of structure in my day to day life without being overwhelmed with course work while transitioning back to my studies. Upon my return to Queens I plan on taking advantage of the student resources that will provide me with stability and a sense of comfort starting from the very beginning of week one. I will meet with Student Academic Success Services as soon as I am able to do so.
One of my main goals that I will be working to improve on is my ability to manage time while completing course work. In the past I have found myself frustrated while working on an assignment for an extended period of time while conscious of the fact that I am extremely picky with the words I choose to communicate my thoughts. It not only makes the process of completing assignments more challenging but also subtracts time away from studying the material from other classes as well as my personal day to day life. It is something that I was aware of throughout my first two years at Queens but after taking a step back from school and reflecting on my study habits, I now know how imperative it is for my success to improve on this skill with the help of academic advisors, peer tutors as well as my improved self awareness.
On top of the academic resources/help that I will be utilizing weekly throughout the rest of my studies at Queen¿¿s, I will also be staying in close contact with my therapist while in Kingston. I have been meeting with her weekly in Toronto over the last two months and she has been instrumental in helping me find my pathway and setting personal goals that I will work towards accomplishing. She has also provided me with mental tools that I can use daily whenever I feel flustered or overwhelmed with whatever challenges I will face down the road. She is available to talk and walk me through any situation I feel I need help with which is highly comforting.
I look forward to following through with my academic plan and meeting with an advisor bi-monthly to assure myself that I am staying on track and that my plan is best suited for my success. I know what I can achieve and with the help of family, neurologist and therapist not to mention the resources offered at Queen¿¿s, I am prepared to return to my studies in the new year.
Adjusting to University when I started at Queen¿¿s in the Fall of 2017 was much harder than I expected it would be. I was not able to manage getting used to living away from home and managing my coursework while staying on top of my physical and mental health in the way I thought I should. But I thought it was up to me to figure it all out, so I didn¿¿t tell anyone how much trouble I was having, and I didn¿¿t ask for help. I finished first year on academic probation.
Things became even more difficult when I had a grand mal seizure in June of 2018. I suffered a concussion, facial injuries and dental damage requiring major orthodontic work. I was diagnosed with epilepsy (a direct result of being struck by the train). I started taking Keppra, a drug whose known side effects include drowsiness and low energy.
I spent the summer trying to recover and get ready to return to Queens for second year, but I worried about how I would do it. My plan was to sit down with an academic advisor when I got there, to make an academic plan that would work for me.
Within the first week of getting back to Queens for second year, I had a second grand mal seizure. I was picked by an ambulance and rushed to Kingston General Hospital. The following day by sister Jordan (Class of Queens 2018) picked me up and brought me back to Toronto to recuperate and made plans to see both my Neurologist and Orthodontist for my broken teeth. The ensuing weeks were spent visiting Sunnybrook Hospital and my neurologist as well as resting and recovering at home. Dr. Lam increased my dosage of Keppra and stressed the importance of constantly being aware of my physical and mental health.
This incident and its aftermath caused me to miss insert number weeks of school. By the time I was both physically and mentally prepared to return to Queens University, I was not able to play catch up after missing so much of the Fall semester. It was at this time that I should have notified Queen¿¿s about my desperate situation. Things just sort of snowballed from there and it was a constant struggle, one I could not at that time overcome. It was easy to lose track of my academic standing with everything that I had experienced in the prior weeks. It wasn¿¿t the cuts on my body or face that were difficult to manage, it was the effects of the increased dosage of Keppra as well as the unease of a potential third seizure.
All of this made it impossible for me to keep up with my academic obligations but again, I felt it was up to me to carry on and I told no-one and didn¿¿t ask for help.
I felt paralyzed and ashamed. I didn¿¿t want to disappoint my parents or other people who care about me, so I kept it all from them. I basically stuck my head in the sand. I even returned to Kingston under the pretext of entering third year, because I was unable to face the reality of my situation.
I have included in my appeal package a letter from Dr. Benjamin Lam, my treating neurologist. By reading his letter and through work with a therapist that I started seeing in mid October and am still working with, I now understand that my problems with keeping up with my coursework and my inability to deal with them effectively were directly related to my brain injury and seizure disorder. It¿¿s hard for me to accept that I am not to blame, my disability is. Now that I understand that, I am determined to make changes to help me return to Queen¿¿s and succeed. My academic plan is also attached.
As of today, I have been seizure free for almost fourteen months and I am feeling more confident everyday that with the right academic plan in place, I am very capable to resume my enrollment at Queens. I have almost completed my transition onto new epilepsy medication, (Lamotrigine) and I will be tapering off of Keppra in the upcoming weeks. The new medication doesn¿¿t come with the same negative side effects which will be a life changer for me as Keppra would keep me in a cycle of fatigue and exhaustion.
Now that you know the whole story, I hope that you will understand the need for compassionate understanding and accommodation of my disability and grant my appeal. I would be happy to meet with you to discuss any aspect of my request.
Sincerely,
Niall McConnell
Academic Plan
With the right academic plan in place while working closely with my parents and neurologist I am fully capable of staying on top of my course load. My course selection in previous years have never included a direct plan with a major in mind that I would be interested in pursuing. The courses in which I found the lectures most engaging while also managing the course work, have always involved geography. I plan on working towards my degree with a major in geography. I have found two geography courses that I will be eligible to enroll in in January as well as a history and astronomy course to round out my schedule.
After talking it over with my neurologist as well as my parents we came to the agreement that enrolling in three courses is the ideal workload to carry when returning to school. It will provide the perfect amount of structure in my day to day life without being overwhelmed with course work while transitioning back to my studies. Upon my return to Queens I plan on taking advantage of the student resources that will provide me with stability and a sense of comfort starting from the very beginning of week one. I will meet with Student Academic Success Services as soon as I am able to do so.
One of my main goals that I will be working to improve on is my ability to manage time while completing course work. In the past I have found myself frustrated while working on an assignment for an extended period of time while conscious of the fact that I am extremely picky with the words I choose to communicate my thoughts. It not only makes the process of completing assignments more challenging but also subtracts time away from studying the material from other classes as well as my personal day to day life. It is something that I was aware of throughout my first two years at Queens but after taking a step back from school and reflecting on my study habits, I now know how imperative it is for my success to improve on this skill with the help of academic advisors, peer tutors as well as my improved self awareness.
On top of the academic resources/help that I will be utilizing weekly throughout the rest of my studies at Queen¿¿s, I will also be staying in close contact with my therapist while in Kingston. I have been meeting with her weekly in Toronto over the last two months and she has been instrumental in helping me find my pathway and setting personal goals that I will work towards accomplishing. She has also provided me with mental tools that I can use daily whenever I feel flustered or overwhelmed with whatever challenges I will face down the road. She is available to talk and walk me through any situation I feel I need help with which is highly comforting.
I look forward to following through with my academic plan and meeting with an advisor bi-monthly to assure myself that I am staying on track and that my plan is best suited for my success. I know what I can achieve and with the help of family, neurologist and therapist not to mention the resources offered at Queen¿¿s, I am prepared to return to my studies in the new year.