Letter of Withdrawal
They made me write a letter of withdrawal for university. This way I might at least get some of my tuition fees back:
Dear Sirs and Madams,
I am writing this letter to explain my reason for withdrawing from Boston University.
I started getting a headache in Mid-September. Initially, I thought I was simply getting the flu and keep on attending classes. By the end of September, however, my symptoms started to get a lot worse. I had terrible pain behind my right eye, my vision started blurring and my arms and legs would tingle and tremble. On the fourth of October I finally decided to see a doctor about my symptoms. The doctor couldn’t find much wrong with me.
From then on my health gradually deteriorated. My headache and vision got worse, and I couldn’t concentrate anymore. Everything was in a daze. Walking or attending classes would leave me incredibly fatigued, and some weeks it took me days to recover from a simple trip to the supermarket across the street. I also began having trouble with my left leg. It would buckle when I walked and I even fell over a couple of times.
Eventually, even the tiniest bit of physical or mental exertion would leave me weak and fatigued for days. Even phone conversations were terribly exhausting for me. I still tried to attend classes up to the second week of October. But soon I was too weak for that. In class, my whole body would start shaking due to exhaustion and at times I couldn’t even hold a pen.
As my illness progressed I became house-bound. I could hardly leave my room for four weeks. I was simply too weak. As soon as I walked out of the door my leg would start buckling, I would start shaking and would need to sit down. At times I could hardy leave my bed to drag myself to the bathroom.
I should also point out that I have had two similar, though less severe, episodes before; one in December 2005 and the other one in July 2006. Both times, I was unable to leave the house for weeks because I felt too weak and tired. Back then, the doctors couldn’t make much of my symptoms either and put them off as the flu. It is only now that things are beginning fall into place.
Over the past few weeks, I have seen numerous doctors, including neurologists, psychiatrists and even an ophthalmologist. I also stayed in hospital for two days. In addition, countless tests have been done including extensive blood work, an MRI, an EEG, Evoked Potentials and an Echocardiogram. So far, all of these tests have been inconclusive.
But I guess at some stage the inconclusiveness of medical tests tends to become a conclusion of its own. There now appear to be very few options left. So while my doctors are currently still not able to give me definite diagnosis, everything seems to point in the direction of what my neurologist referred to as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (which is just a fancy medical term for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.)
I hope you understand that the decision to withdraw from BU was by no means an easy one for me. I have greatly enjoyed the little time I spent studying here. However, due to my current state of health, I am unable to continue with my studies. Also, because this appears to be a chronic condition that will significantly impact my ability to study and perform daily tasks, I will not return to BU at a later date. I believe that it is best for me to go back home to Europe, where I have family and friends to take care of me, and a stable social support network.
If there are any further question please feel free to contact me or any of my physicians.
Kind Regards,
Claudia Mende
Dear Sirs and Madams,
I am writing this letter to explain my reason for withdrawing from Boston University.
I started getting a headache in Mid-September. Initially, I thought I was simply getting the flu and keep on attending classes. By the end of September, however, my symptoms started to get a lot worse. I had terrible pain behind my right eye, my vision started blurring and my arms and legs would tingle and tremble. On the fourth of October I finally decided to see a doctor about my symptoms. The doctor couldn’t find much wrong with me.
From then on my health gradually deteriorated. My headache and vision got worse, and I couldn’t concentrate anymore. Everything was in a daze. Walking or attending classes would leave me incredibly fatigued, and some weeks it took me days to recover from a simple trip to the supermarket across the street. I also began having trouble with my left leg. It would buckle when I walked and I even fell over a couple of times.
Eventually, even the tiniest bit of physical or mental exertion would leave me weak and fatigued for days. Even phone conversations were terribly exhausting for me. I still tried to attend classes up to the second week of October. But soon I was too weak for that. In class, my whole body would start shaking due to exhaustion and at times I couldn’t even hold a pen.
As my illness progressed I became house-bound. I could hardly leave my room for four weeks. I was simply too weak. As soon as I walked out of the door my leg would start buckling, I would start shaking and would need to sit down. At times I could hardy leave my bed to drag myself to the bathroom.
I should also point out that I have had two similar, though less severe, episodes before; one in December 2005 and the other one in July 2006. Both times, I was unable to leave the house for weeks because I felt too weak and tired. Back then, the doctors couldn’t make much of my symptoms either and put them off as the flu. It is only now that things are beginning fall into place.
Over the past few weeks, I have seen numerous doctors, including neurologists, psychiatrists and even an ophthalmologist. I also stayed in hospital for two days. In addition, countless tests have been done including extensive blood work, an MRI, an EEG, Evoked Potentials and an Echocardiogram. So far, all of these tests have been inconclusive.
But I guess at some stage the inconclusiveness of medical tests tends to become a conclusion of its own. There now appear to be very few options left. So while my doctors are currently still not able to give me definite diagnosis, everything seems to point in the direction of what my neurologist referred to as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (which is just a fancy medical term for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.)
I hope you understand that the decision to withdraw from BU was by no means an easy one for me. I have greatly enjoyed the little time I spent studying here. However, due to my current state of health, I am unable to continue with my studies. Also, because this appears to be a chronic condition that will significantly impact my ability to study and perform daily tasks, I will not return to BU at a later date. I believe that it is best for me to go back home to Europe, where I have family and friends to take care of me, and a stable social support network.
If there are any further question please feel free to contact me or any of my physicians.
Kind Regards,
Claudia Mende