Not giving up, but! SOS

[onlybattles]

Hello friends! 

So, I am in quite the pickle. My undergrad is in speech, but I am doing an online post-bacc program to raise my GPA. It is very low and frankly, laughable. It does not meet the minimum to even be considered to most programs. (First question: is retaking all these classes even worth my while? Will it hurt me in the long run, even if I ace them?)

Moreover, my undergrad career was plagued with a series of terrible occurrences. I lost my grandfather fall of sophomore year, was involved in a car accident spring break of sophomore year (ten months in a wheelchair and two years of physical therapy to get me walking again), and spring of junior year, I lost my mother. So, needless to say, it was a very bumpy road. Instead of sitting here with a "survivor" story to tell you, someone who took all the adversity and came out on top, I'm afraid my determination to simply finish on time deterred me further; I worked hard to finish, not finish well. (Second question: how to I explain in my SOP that I had some unfortunate circumstances without sounding whiny or blaming my less-than-stellar GPA on them?)

Lastly, I have a grade that needs resolved and I'm not sure how to explain this in my LOR either. Spring of junior year, the semester I lost my mom, I was taking a class that had a two-fold purpose - to prepare us for our senior year clinical rotations and to have us go into the field and complete our 25 hours of observations. Under the circumstances, I missed an abundance of classes. I was able to complete the observations and the required write ups on them. I remember getting Bs on my exams in the class, however, I am unsure of what I got on my final. At the close of the semester, I found out I received a D in the class, tanking both my major and overall GPAs. Again, in my mind, I had to graduate on time, and I was still incredibly grief stricken, so I took the grade and accepted it, not realizing how it would impact me. Now, I have contacted the head of my undergrad's department and, in the restructuring that is happening in the department, the class is no longer offered, so I cannot retake it. (Third (and final!) question: what the hell can I do about this grade that is actually keeping me from getting into graduate school?) The professor was horrendous. She was my clinical supervisor for two semesters following this class and I literally lost my hair because she stressed us all to the max. I made myself sick over her expectations and her attitude, I worked my freaking tail off, and it didn't get me anywhere. 

After being rejected, I contacted a few of the schools I was really set on and asked them their thoughts. They explained to me that, because I had GREs in the higher end, outstanding LORs and fantastic resume builders, those are the reasons my application was even considered. However, they were firm that my SOP could use a little work, it was that one grade that kept me from getting in at all.

So here I am. Any and all advice that you could throw my way would be greatly appreciated.