Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello Associate Dean,
I am appealing to drop my Biology 303 course in the winter term, 2015. The past 8 months I have been suffering from severe anxiety along with extreme nausea and fatigue. Throughout a regular week, in the past 8 months, I normally will throw up between 4-5 times, mostly after meals. This has led me to have significant fluctuations in weight ranging from 160-180 pounds in the last few months. In addition this has also caused a lot of fatigue and stress on my body and mind. I have been in and out of both La Salle and Hotel Dieu to get treatment for my vomiting fearing it could be something serious, as blood was found in my vomit several times. Throughout this long process I lost many nights worrying that the tests they did would come back for something serious, eg. Cancer or kidney disease. This coupled with the constant vomiting inhibited my ability to go to Biology 303 many times, as it solely has morning classes. I missed quizzes and important lectures and as a result didn¿¿t have the information I needed to perform at my fullest potential in the class.
The doctors at Hotel Dieu have recently told me that they are not fully sure of what is causing my constant vomiting but they think it might be linked to my anxiety. During the past 2 weeks, due to exams, my anxiety has gotten worse and I throw up nearly every day. After every meal I suffer from severe nausea and have to lay down for half an hour so as not to throw up. I¿¿ve started skipping meals in the past two weeks to prevent feeling sick after eating as well to avoid throwing up. Overall I am incredibly tired all of the time and can¿¿t eat, sleep or study without feeling incredibly anxious and sick.
I feel like dropping this course is the best plan of action for me right now. To be able to have the extra time to work on my other courses and my health is something that I really need. Once exams are finished my mom and I have planned to meet with a counselor to help find ways to deal with my anxiety. For future semesters I plan on taking a lighter course load until I can learn to cope with my anxiety and other issues
Thank you for your time,
Colby Currie