Could someone check the grammar and give me some advices?

I am writing in petition to retroactively late drop Eng1A from the Spring 2008 quarter. Due to extenuating family and personal cirstances, including my father's medical condition and the inability to afford housing on a monthly basis, I was under extreme emotional and mental stress. My father is suffering in depression and is addicted to gambling. Our family is currently receiving food stamp but housing is still taking a toll on us since my father’s unemployment compensation has ended. Although I attempted in many ways to suppress the stress and emotional instability, it nevertheless affected my academic progress in the Eng1A coursework. I found myself falling further and further behind in my ignments with each ping week. Because I decided to attempt putting in a determined effort to complete the course, I subsequently had already missed the withdrawal deadline when I finally realized that success in this course would not be possible.