Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom it May Concern,

Hello, my name is Irelande and I am a graduating BSH of Psychology student. On April 14th I suffered from an organ rupture leading to severe blood loss and emergency abdominal surgery. I was given instruction by my surgeons to rest and recuperate for 6 weeks, due to both the emergency nature and invasiveness of the surgery. I truly hoped that I would be healed in time for the deferred exam, even though it takes place just 4 weeks post-op. I have done all I can to heal faster including taking my prescribed medications as directed, eating well, and getting as much rest as possible. However, I am still not fully functional.

I have made genuine efforts to study for this exam but my brain fog and fatigue prevents even simple problem solving. I have sought help for the brain fog and low energy by asking my family doctor about how I can push through it but I have been told that it’s a normal part of recovery for intensive surgery. I have achieved high grades in CHEM 112 this semester and have worked incredibly hard to get them. I have made study groups and even sought additional tutoring programs to ensure I understood concepts. This has meant I received nearly all A’s and a couple of B’s on my assignments this past semester. But in my current state, it takes hours to complete basic questions due to brain fog and exhaustion. I’m unable to remember daily information, let alone what few questions I can complete in a day. By pushing myself through this studying, my family doctor, family, and I have noticed a decline in my condition.

The stress has exacerbated preexisting sleep issues, meaning I am only sleeping a few hours each night. This has undoubtedly prolonged my healing timeline. My hours of attempted studying could be used to rest and heal from my surgery and blood loss. Even basic care tasks are challenging and painful in my state, which makes studying an even more impossible task. As the exam gets closer I have to cut out the time it takes to care for myself in order to study. Even with studying, I will quite literally be unable to complete the exam considering my pain levels and how much my brain fog has slowed my cognition. Even writing this letter has taken multiple days. I can also feel myself getting weaker by preparing for the exam. I want to heal but forcing myself through this would mean I’d be sick for even longer, potentially losing out on my Summer job, a Summer research position, and being able to attend my graduation. I need this time to heal and will be unable to complete the exam.

I have considered all other options but believe an Aegrotat Standing would be the best option to preserve my physical health. Taking a credit standing option would be detrimental as forcing myself to write the exam is harmful to my health. This is both in terms of straining myself in the weeks leading up to the exam and physically being able to travel to Kingston from my hometown where I’m currently recovering. Simply electing to push myself to travel to and write the exam, knowing I am cognitively impaired and will fail, would push my GPA below considerations for my goal neuroscience graduate programs.

I have worked so hard to succeed in this course. Even when I felt the rupture in my abdomen, I asked my partner, who drove me to the ER, to pack my laptop. I thought I could “push through the pain” and study while waiting to be seen by a doctor. I have been trying to simply push through and force myself to succeed despite this medical emergency, but even my doctor has told me it’s time to stop. Please consider granting me Aegrotat Standing so I can prioritize my health, I have truly exhausted every other option.

Sincerely,
Irelande Farrell