Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing this petition request due to an unexpected and unforeseen circumstance of my health condition. I am having difficulty continuing with CISC 235 course. Thus, I request you allow me to drop CISC 235 course.

This CISC 235 course is needed for my computing program, and I would like to do well in it to help my further education. This course is a prerequisite for many of the 3rd year courses. However, due to my health at the moment, I am not able to focus on the coursework and would like to take this course at a later date when I am in better health.

I did well in Assignment 1 and Assignment 2, and I passed Quiz 1.

Before Monday 6th March 2023, my thumb finger was getting stiffer, creating a pop sound when folded the thumb. Other fingers were normal, and I had no pain, so I was able to do normal tasks.

The pain and somewhat of inflammation started in my left thumb around 6th March of 2023 and continued to increase over the days. The swelling in the thumb was impacting my other fingers as well. I could not press any keyboard key with my thumb and index finger. Due to an increase in pain and red swelling, on Thursday, 9th March 2023, I went to the Ellesmere Family Health Group clinic for a checkup. I also did recommended x-ray that day and ultrasound other day, at Ontario Diagnostic Centres. I followed up with the doctor(s) multiple times to cure (about once a week). I performed the recommended treatment provided by the doctors, such as hand exercises, cold and hot compressions, hand brace, medications, and other required changes to cure.

I took the recommended painkiller Advil, and applied voltaren cream; that did not work. I was still unable to move my thumb and index finger at all. I was unable to sleep well for multiple nights due to the pain. I wake up in the middle of the night from my sleep due to the pain which disturbed my sleep and daily performance. I was also on period on the day of Quiz 2, in which I had to deal with both hand pain and period pain. The professor replied to my email on 15 and 16th March and recommended rescheduling the make up test for Quiz 2 through the link. I clicked on the link; however, the link did not work on 22nd March when I attempted to reschedule Quiz 2 on 24th March. The link condition was that I had to book 1 business day in advance, so I was hoping that the 23rd March slots would appear, but the booking form link did not work at all. As I was tackling this rescheduling, the fingers, and thumb pain significantly increased so I prioritized curing the pain that I did not even realize that I had to email the professor to reschedule about link not working.

I attempted to do assignment 3; however, the content is new to me, so I am having difficulty understanding it. It is difficult to focus on the material due to my hand pain, as pain is at the forefront of all thoughts. I don't have much time to learn the content and do Assignment 3 by the given time on OnQ. I need more time to learn the fundamentals required to succeed in this course because these basic fundamentals are required for many of the 3rd year courses. Thus, dropping CISC 235 course is in my best interest for now so I can wait for my hand to heal and become fit enough to do my coursework. At the moment, I am still unable to press any keyboard key with my thumb and index finger.

I missed the last self-assessment 7 as well due to the swelling painful hands; this makes it more challenging to prepare for the final and better prepare for related topics.

On Tuesday, 4th April, I had flu, as well as inflammation and pain in my hands so, I visited the doctor again, but no additional treatment was recommended for my hands, and asked me to continue what was previously recommended.

I am unable to focus on the course material due to the pain in my hands. I still constantly feel the pain in my hands and am not able to focus while trying to study the required course material. Due to this, I am requesting to drop this course and would like to take this course later when I am in better health. I hope that you will consider my request and allow me to drop this course without penalty or negative impact on my academic record.