Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 1316
Submitted: July 27, 2015 at 12:11:24 AM
First Name: Adam
Last Name: Ganassini
Student Number: 10007532
Email: adam.ganassini@gmail.com
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: FILM
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: The reasoning behind my request to appeal the 21 day deadline is an extension of my reasoning behind why my studies were so hindered throughout the 2014/2015 school year. For nearly the entire duration of the school year, I have been battling a deep persistent issues with depression and anxiety. Depression is something I have been fighting for roughly six to seven years, but only as of this past year has it affected all areas of my life to such a massive degree. The feelings of misery, worthlessness, helplessness, and fear, were all relentless throughout the duration of the school year, and on the majority of the days I was literally bedridden. While they did come in waves of severity, they never dwindled completely, and even now this is the case. Regardless, I spent the entire year in and out of doctor's offices and weaning myself on (and off) of medications. My academic session was more or less a disgrace and an embarrassment. It wasn't until about the end of the Winter semester that I went on a specific antidepressant (Pristiq) that would end up having a positive affect on me. As is the mechanism of these medications where they can take up to 6-8 weeks to take full effect, this was the case with me. While me and my doctor continue to experiment with dosages, I am now functioning quite a bit better and am having more ease taking on responsibilities. For the first time since the beginning of the school year, I can say that I am no longer feeling completely incapacitated nor am I feeling suicidally depressed. If this were almost any time earlier in the year, I would not have been able to take the time out of my day to draft out this appeal letter. My request to waive the appeal deadline is in regards to two courses that I failed in the Winter session, and though I don't want to try my luck, the circumstances are the same for one course in the Fall session (Film 355) so I would like to try to waive the deadline for that one as well. I am absolutely confident that my file with Queen's Health Services will corroborate my background.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Doctor's note
Documentation Detail: Prescription record
Decision Letters
Amendment to Appeal 1316
Relevant Petition: 1316
New Information: I would like to include that I was first prescribed the antidepressant Pristiq in the fall of 2014. However, at the time I was experiencing issues with high blood pressure so Dr. Borins with Queen's Health Services instead prescribed Bupropion. This drug ended up only aggravating my depression and sent me into a lower state until I chose to come off it (as well as Adderall at the same time) in mid December. Interestingly, I started to feel better around this time. Around roughly the end of the first month of my studies in the Winter session, my depression began to return. By around late March when it became too much to bare, I remembered that I still had the old vile of Pristiq. I began taking it and ended up finding glimpse of efficacy. However, with how these drugs works, it took roughly three weeks to see any benefit at all and by then my studies were over. Even still, it took further adjustment in dosage (up to my current 100mg) to receive the truly noticeable and effective results, which was a couple of months later during the summer.
I do hope this sheds light on the timing of things. While I have been depressed for a very long time, I spent most of the 2014/2015 school year as non-functioning and essentially incapable of basic responsibilities. The only help so far has come from the Pristiq, and my purpose of the amendment was to mention that I did not start receiving benefit from the Pristiq until well after the school year's and 21 day deadline's end.
I do hope this sheds light on the timing of things. While I have been depressed for a very long time, I spent most of the 2014/2015 school year as non-functioning and essentially incapable of basic responsibilities. The only help so far has come from the Pristiq, and my purpose of the amendment was to mention that I did not start receiving benefit from the Pristiq until well after the school year's and 21 day deadline's end.
Student Number: 10007532
Documentation
Professional Letter: Letter Adam.pdf
Document: Prescriptions.pdf