Petition Letter
Symptoms started in August of 2015 and got progressively worse as time has gone on. In first year I had several occasions where I was hospitalized (approximately 10 times over the course of the academic year). My symptoms involved swelling of my throat and difficulty breathing, symptoms similar to anaphylaxis but the triggers were unknown. This caused a lot of missed assignments due to time spent in hospital and receiving emergency care. After hospitalizations, the recovery from those emergency episodes took 2-3 days to return to normal. In 2016/17 I continued to seek medical treatment and investigation of a diagnosis but none was found. My symptoms still occurred, about the same frequency. I did have a treatment plan but it didn¿¿t work. I was put on trial medications but they left me feeling worse and had side effects. I was drowsy all the time and I was still being hospitalized (nearly once a week.) This also resulted in missed assignments, missed classes, not being well enough to properly consult with instructors and communicate my accommodation needs. In 2017/18, my condition was a repeat of the previous year. The symptoms continued, I still did not have a diagnosis and I did not have a treatment plan that was effective so there was no relief. The medication I am on to treat my emergency symptoms has an adverse effect on my ability to study. I did seek help immediately through the Student Affairs Office upon arriving on campus and they referred me to Accessibility Services in first year (end of first term/beginning of second term) for academic accommodations. I was assigned an Accessibility Advisor but I wasn¿¿t able to connect with her and there were communication problems, I was not properly accommodated and I was not given direction on where or how to seek help. These problems continued until the present term until I was assigned a new Accessibility Advisor and registered with QSAS to receive academic accommodations. I am now working with Student Services, seeking regular academic advising, communicating with my Accessibility Advisor and managing my course load with my accommodations in place.