Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

Request: I am requesting to appeal to drop the courses GNDS 375, GNDS 352, and LLCU 248 (all Winter 2018).
Explanation: The reason for my request is because I have been involved in extenuating circumstances beyond my control regarding family, medical and psychological problems. The rapid decline of my mental health and well being began in January of 2017 when my dad left the country to undergo 2 surgeries on his spine and neck. After these surgeries he was still in chronic pain and in April 2017 during my exam period he attempted to end his own life. Since then I have been in a constant state of depression and my anxiety and stress levels have only increased. After the partial recovery of my dad I returned to school for my third year. My first Semester went quite well however I still had issues with attending classes and focusing on work due to my anxiety, but after Christmas break and being home with my family I felt as though my mental health was improving. Early in January during the first week of classes I received troubling news about my own health and had to undergo emergency surgery on the 29th at the women¿¿s clinic at KGH. The weeks leading up to the surgery was the second worst time in my life and my mental health was absolutely terrible, I had constant dark swirling thoughts, suicidal thoughts, self-medicating dependencies and zero confidence, I felt uncomfortable and self-conscious when I left the house and overwhelmed with my workload. After my procedure I went home to Whitby to be with my family with hopes of feeling better however because I had to keep my procedure a secret from my parents I only felt guilty and anxious. I then returned to school in order to get my life back, I saw the crises counsellor at the wellness centre and was able to have academic consideration for the weeks that I was away and unable to attend class and so I thought I was going to be in better shape. But right after coming back to school I learned that my dad was electing to have another surgery which would have a higher risk than he has ever had before and he was not letting anyone talk him out of it even though I tried to convince him not to, I just completely broke down. Not only were my own problems of mental health immense but now I felt much more guilt and fear for my dad¿¿s physical and mental well being. Because my dad is now unable to work he is home all day while my mom works and brother is in school and so I became afraid of leaving him alone. I go home every weekend and try to spend as much time as I can with him but I am unable to speak to him about my mental health because I don¿¿t want to put pressure on him or the rest of my family because they are already going through too much. Because of all of this I am in a constant state of anxiety, I have panic attacks 4-5 times a day that include heart palpitations, hyperventilation and uncontrollable crying, when these attacks began they were short and manageable however now they are unpredictable and triggered by the most subtle things. I find myself scared to leave my house or see my friends because I don¿¿t want anyone to see me in this state or see me have an attack. I attempted to do all the work I could at home and follow lectures online which was alright but all marks regarding attendance were a write-off. Not only were my attendance and grades deteriorating but I up until now I am still completely sleep-deprived because I am only able to sleep when medicated or intoxicated. Overall the past year have been absolutely exhausting and there is nothing I want more than to continue with school and feel normal again.
Future Plan: My plan for the future, should my request be accepted is to drop the 3 courses listed due to the fact that they heavily rely on attendance marks and are not required for my degree plan and continue with my two other courses this semester. I feel as though I can continue with my other two courses because I have done most of the work required for them and their workload is much lighter than the other courses, in addition I can complete all of my work for those classes while I am at home with my family. I plan on taking 4 courses during the summer semester while I am at home with my family and will be able to take better care of myself. As well I would like to take my first semester of fourth year online as a distance student so I can stay at home where my family doctor and therapist are and can monitor my progress. I fully plan to come back as a full time and on-campus student for my last semester of fourth year because my goal is to significantly recover and feel good about my self through the next year, but I realize I am going to have to make a significant effort in conjunction with treatments.

In my supporting documents I have included my hospital band as proof of my surgery however I do not have permission to access my Fathers medical documents. I have also provided my paperwork used for my academic consideration based on my assessment with my counsellor.

Thank you for your time
Jessica Jakhu-Milton