Advanced Apology to Students

UPDATE:

My mother passed away during the power failure associated with the ice storm on Thursday night, Jan. 31st, 2002, at 9:21pm, in the Emergency Room of St. Luke's Hospital, near the Plaza.

Below is a summary included in the email announcement. You can see the beginning of the Memorial Website to her at: http://WebMediaWorkShop.com/Gloria/

-----Original Message----- From: englishn Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2002 9:12 PM Cc: englishn Subject: Memorial Service for Gloria English

Hi... For those of you whom I was not able to contact, my mother passed away Thursday, Jan. 31st, 2002. I have been without electrical power due to the ice storm until yesterday, and phone service has been intermittent as well. The Memorial Service was last Wednesday. It was a very warm, informal service, with lots of stories about my mom and our adventures during her life. Just wanted to let you know about it.... The obit, which I wrote, appeared in last Sunday's paper.

....see more below....

Nicole English Instructor PACE EnglishN@umkc.edu

-----Original Message----- From: englishn Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 9:12 PM Cc: englishn Subject: Memorial Service for Gloria English

Hi...

...I have very sad news...my mother passed away on Thursday night. :'(

Our power has been out for days. I got the "bright" idea of asking Mike to pick us up and we could all go to a movie to keep warm. In the middle of the film, my mother got sick, and asked if we could leave. She was suddenly very weak. We had to carry her to the car and we rushed her to the ER at St. Luke's. We lost her once at the ER, where they were able to revive her for a few minutes, and then she was gone.

I would like to invite everyone to come to her memorial service, on Wed. nite, at McGilley's Funeral Home at Linwood and Main, in Midtown KC. Visitation is at 5pm, Memorial Service is at 6:30pm. We plan to show photos and videos of my mom's dancing career.

My partner, Mike Strong, and I are also planning a Memorial Website for her as well. It will likely be an unconventional service. I realize there is a lot going on, but if any of you could come, I would love to have you come by if you can squeeze it in. Please spread the word. Would like to have as many people come as possible. All are welcome to come. Even though things have been very difficult this last year, I have felt that I have had bonus time with her, and I am glad I had the opportunity to take care of my mother myself, and spend this time with her, before she passed on. I am grateful I had the opportunity. Needless to say, I will have my hands full for a while making arrangements...hope to see you come to the memorial service if you can make it....

NE... Nicole English PACE Instructor UMKC

Hi...

The purpose of this apology is to explain my change of situation, and why I may not be as available as much to students as I used to be, and as I would like to be.

I love teaching a lot, and try to go the extra mile for students if I can. Being a student myself, I understand how students today have responsibilities that compete for one's attention, including work and family responsibilities.

As a result, I hope you all will try to be patient with me in my change of circumstance.

Since my mother had a massive heart attack in early March, 2001, her health has been my primary concern in my life. We have almost lost her several times since that first episode, and trying to keep things going has been frightening and frustrating, and at times, totally overwhelming.

She is home now, and taking care of her is pretty much a full time job for me now. She needs assistance to walk, eat, bathe, etc...and there is just the two of us. Fortunately, this happened right after I was shifted from full time staff to part time faculty, so I am not required to keep the same office hours as I was before, and I can do a lot of work from home.

The reason I explain this is that I work now a lot from home, and I am not as available as I used to be. I am also slower to respond, and not as easy to get a hold of...for my v-mail and e-mail frequently get overloaded, and it takes time to sort through. As a result, I will try to make my home phone number available to students in my class so you can reach me at home. Also, because my mother is receiving intraveneous therapy at Menorah three times a week, plus periodic doctor appointments, keeping up with her medical care keeps me running a lot, so my appointment schedule is rather tight.

Occasionally, a crisis may arise and I may have to rush to the hospital, resulting in my missing class or an appointment. Even if there is no crisis, often my mother will call for assistance (generally because she is in great pain, or has difficulty breathing), and I will need to run up the street to the house to assist her. (I try not to leave her alone for very long at any one time, and check on her frequently.) As a result, I try to get phone numbers from you when I make an appointment so that I can keep you posted if I run late for some reason.

We are all hoping that this situation is temporary, as I am applying for State aid and assistance in the home. Unfortunately, these things take time to kick in, and so I am trying to make do as best I can until things improve. So, I am hoping you will all bear with me if I lag behind at times.

I will continue, as I have always tried to do, to be as flexible as I can, and to work with your schedules as much as possible. If you have problems, I am willing to help. If you have ideas about the curriculum, I am negotiable. I am always willing to try to find a way to work things out.

It is my hope you will try to be as flexible with me as I try to be with you.

Thanks....Sincerely,

Nicole English, Instructor