Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The Request
I am petitioning the Faculty of Arts and Science to remove ANAT 215 & 216, and MICR 221 from my transcript, I failed courses in my 3rd and 2nd year (Fall 2021 to Winter 2023). The reasoning for this request is due to an extenuating medical illness invoked in Fall 2021.


Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances

My chronic illness began in Fall 2021. Following the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in August 2021 I began to develop an acute skin reaction. This included nightly bleeding and blisters formation surrounding my back – which became severe between December 2021 to March 2022. I visited my allergist (Dr. Ellie Tsai; Kingston, Ontario) about February 2022 and was prescribed the steroid “Prednisone”. My reaction was gone for about 7 days until it relapsed again – blisters chronic surrounding my whole body. I went back to the allergist who referred me to KGH [walk-in clinic] to get a secondary medical opinion. The hospital doctors conducted blood and urine tests which came back with no diagnosis. I was then referred to dermatologist specialists in Toronto [AvantDerm] and completed a skin biopsy in March 2022. In April 2022, results concluded I had a ‘suspected microbial infection’ of unknown origin. I was prescribed an antimicrobial cream and was told to follow up with my family doctor.
The antimicrobial cream was ineffective and skin reaction remained present. My parents got into contact with a reliable herbal specialist [in Toronto], to try herbal remedies for healing. Note this herbalist previously had success with prior family members' skin reactions too. From about May 2022 to January 2023 I was taking prescribed herbal medicine, with the intent to reduce inflammation on skin. Over the course of the summer (May 2022 – November 2022) blisters and itching reduced, and inflammation started to reduce. However, upon temperature reduction inflection was chronic again. Beginning in November 2022 blisters were severely swollen and inflamed – worst when changing from outside and inside environments. From January 2023 to March 2023, eyes became infected causing limited visibility. I had a few visits to an optometrist [Visionary Eyecare], where I was prescribed and monitored anti-inflammatory eyedrops during this period. By about April 2023, major inflammation had stopped throughout the body.

Summary of Chronic Illness and Academic Effect
In summary from September 2021 to April 2023 I visited the hospital – both Hotel Dieu and KGH – about 4 – 5 times collectively regarding symptoms of my infection. This included blisters, chronic eczema, and lymph nodes which surrounded my body. Furthermore, I completed blood and urine test about 5 times, and 2 skin biopsies, during this period.
I attempted to redo courses ANAT 215 & 216 and MICR 221, in Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 however sudden chronic infections prevented me from committing to lecture and class time consistently – prominent during winter weather. I did not drop courses in pursuit of redemption of grades from the prior year. However, inflammation became severe after the Winter 2023 drop deadline, and all medicinal routes were exhausted. Overall, the infection persisted with prominent eczema.


Present Day
From April 2023 to July 2023, inflammation transitioned from chronic to mild. I was not able to get into contact with my family doctor and allergist until August 2023. Firstly, the family doctor (Dr. Shalini Jain; Amherstview, Ontario) revealed that all the prior blood and urine tests concluded with no results. Allergist performed allergy tests to find the probable cause of the infection. After she scheduled an appointment in December 2023 to complete further testing [patch testing]. In December 2023, allergist informed me infection was fungal and prescribed oral anti-fungal medication. Today symptoms are acute, with dryness and mild eczema.