Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am submitting this appeal following the one I have previously uploaded to waive the 21-day deadline, which has recently been granted. I will now be appealing to waive the requirement to withdraw for one year as well as drop courses past the academic deadline (every course that I was enrolled in this 2013/14 academic year).

Throughout my first year I faced many struggles that hindered my ability to succeed (academically speaking); however I would like to explain, in detail, how my Type 1 diabetes as well as a long period of different illnesses affected my performance.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes about 7 years ago and have always been able to maintain decent control of my blood sugar. Unfortunately, moving away from home and learning in a much faster paced, stressful environment dramatically changed this. With extremely high levels of stress and constant lack of sleep my body couldn¿¿t seem to keep up and around October I started to lose control over my sugars. This meant that I was having severe low blood sugar as well as high blood sugar fluctuations almost every day. When my blood sugar is low I get extremely weak, dizzy, nauseous, and completely lose focus and concentration- I usually feel like I am about to pass out until my body processes the juice that I take as compensation. During and after a low (a couple of hours) I have zero ability to retain any information and I usually don¿¿t feel like myself, physically or mentally. Similarly, having high blood sugar makes me feel very tired and dizzy, I usually get a headache, and I lose all focus and concentration. High blood sugar takes longer to get under control because it does not adjust until my body processes the insulin I have taken and this usually occurs after an hour or two.

This is explained in further detail within the letter I have attached from my endocrinologist

During several examinations this year, for a many of my courses, I was affected by hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia (low and high blood sugar). I did not pass these examinations, as I was unable to recall most of what I had studied and could not pay attention long enough to put any thoughts down in writing. When this occurred in lecture and tutorials, I did not absorb and preserve any information that was presented to me, meaning that I missed important syllabus material being taught directly from my professors and tutorial leaders. Finally, having low or high blood sugar at night usually resulted in making up for lost time by staying up excessively late and not producing quality work.

Additionally, with unhealthy sugar levels and a low immune system, I was sick from November up until the beginning of March. For the entire month of November and the beginning of December I had a strep infection that didn¿¿t present itself in the chest or throat, as well as a UTI, without knowing. It wasn¿¿t until I got home for Christmas break that my doctor discovered this uncommon infection and UTI. I was vomiting a couple of times a week, falling asleep every time I sat down to study, and generally feeling feverish. I, carelessly, tried to push through it without seeking any medical attention so that I could proceed putting all of my time towards work and examinations, resulting in many failed grades. As well, once I returned to school in January I fought through several colds and one week of the flu, which also impeded my ability to keep up with my academics.

I have not been able to get a hold of my general physician for my medical records over the phone; however, if this proof is necessary, please e-mail me and I will arrange to meet my doctor for a report


Future Academic Plan:

Considering all that I have been through in the past year, it would not be healthy in any way to continue on this path as these trends can cause extensive nerve damage, kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, and even heart disease. To begin to deal with this problem I have already drastically changed the levels of insulin that I receive through my insulin pump (set up in a detailed, long-term plan by my new endocrinologist) and in the last 2-3 months I have noticed a massive difference in the amounts of lows and highs I experience week to week. I have already gained much more energy and am able to remember things much easier than I did during the year. To ensure that what occurred this year does not happen again I plan on taking a lighter course load (4 courses per semester instead of 5) to avoid excess stress/lack of sleep that caused my blood sugar to spin out of control in the first place. I plan on seeing a counselor to help me manage any hardships that I do come across and cope with the stressors that come from being in school full-time. Furthermore, I have discussed this with my doctor and we have agreed to set up a system where I will contact my nurses as needed to study my blood sugar trends and make adjustments accordingly. The diabetes team that I currently (and newly) work with is extremely supportive and will be available if I ever need their aid in any way throughout the year. I have also learned my lesson when it comes to illness, as I was at my lowest this year. In the upcoming year I will utilize the school¿¿s medical clinic by seeing a doctor as soon as needed instead of waiting until it is too late or compensating my grades for the ¿¿push through it¿ mentality.

A wide combination of factors affected my ability to accomplish what was academically required this year and being away from home, dealing with these issues on my own for the first time, was one of the hardest things I have ever tried to overcome. However, I believe that I have gained so much knowledge about myself and my body through this difficult life experience and I am ready to face another year with a more solid academic plan and plenty of medical support from home as well as school. Diabetes is a part of me and that is something that I do not get to choose but I will fight with all of my will to succeed at Queens and fulfill my life with every opportunity that this school puts in front of me.

Thank you very much for your consideration.



Regards,

Madeleine Carmichael
10109147