Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: At the end of the Winter 2022 term, on April 17th 2023, I found out I was pregnant. Given how badly I want kids and how much love I already felt for my child, this was incredibly difficult to discover as a nineteen year old student, with no money and no support. Out of self preservation, I did not reach out for assistance via counselling or any form of health professional, as I didn't want to relive any of the trauma associated with the assault.

Moving into the Summer 2022 term, I was in the middle of the biggest decision of my life as my courses (SPAN 111 and ANAT 100) began. Despite my selfish desire to have this child. I made the hardest decision of my life, and decided to have an abortion. This was on May 20th 2022. Leading up to the abortion I was facing depression and just about every emotion a person can face, as well as dealing with incredibly nauseating morning sickness, yet somehow that just made me want my baby even more.

After the date of the abortion I was simply depressed. I was feeling incredibly guilty, and facing the loss of my child, a child that, despite only ever growing to the size of a blueberry, was more loved than almost anyone on this planet.

In late April and early/ mid May I was unable to do school work as it was simply the last thing on my mind as I made the hardest, most excruciating decision of my life. Even when I logged onto OnQ to get the work done, it was so incredibly overwhelming, as I was already behind, and already had completely missed assignments, even one worth 20% of the final grade.

Then, exactly one month after my abortion, on June 20th, my partner was told his parents are divorcing and police charges were filed, having one of his parent's arrested for spousal abuse. On the same night, my eldest sister called to inform me that she was pregnant, and happily stated that she had no issues getting an abortion, and that it would be easy.

I was unable to reach out for help at this point, because on top of everything regarding the abortion and 'voluntarily' losing my daughter I was now having to grapple with a host of other familial and health issues, being there for everyone else while they had no idea that I was going through struggles of my own. Pretending to be fine, and being the rock for others was another giant weight. It also encouraged me to keep everything inside, preventing me from getting help at that time.

I had missed the drop deadline in all of the ugliness of the previous circumstances, and the horrible situations that would continue to come throughout the summer (dealing with abuse in my sister's relationship, dealing with abuse in the relationship of my in-laws, two grandparents dying, contracting mono but not knowing why my partner and I felt so ill, with doctors failing to diagnose us for more than a month, and hearing my sister talk about how easy it is to get an abortion, not knowing that I had just had an abortion, and that it was not at all easy for me in any way).

Following, more horribleness ensued through the worst part of my life, and the awfulness of the world weighed down on me, leading me to begin drinking and using marijuana to cope. I became incredibly addicted to both.

This addiction, a way of coping with my trauma and emotional distress throughout this time, carried from the beginning of June through this Fall 2022 term. Dealing with this, and knowing that I had a problem, asking for help during the course, dealing with extenuating circumstances through the Academic Considerations Office would have meant having to stop using and face the problem, thus having to face the underlying emotional issues happening, and this was just not doable until now.

For all of these reasons, I was unable to complete the course work, and unable to get help or drop the courses in the appropriate amount of time.
This is also why there is no documentation after my second ER visit, which was due to tissue remaining in my uterus after the abortion (incredibly painful and a frightening amount of blood). I did not seek the help I should have -- I still haven't -- so there is not record from a health care provider, though I do feel the emotional and mental ramifications of loosing a child that you wanted more than anything in this entire world are evident and well documented.