Hi everyone

I would be grateful for some advice. I have my viva coming us but I don"t know if I can face it. My child passed away from illness recently and I had a miscarriage shortly after. It was a miracle that I submitted. I am not coping well with everything and I just don't know how to get through the viva. Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts.

Sk100,

So sorry to hear about your terrible loss.

Surely it must be possible to postpone your viva in such awful circumstances? I can't believe any institution would insist you went through such a stressful process at this time. Could you maybe suspend your registration on compassionate grounds?

Maybe you should start by talking to someone like the welfare officer at your uni.

I really hope you manage to sort something out to ease the pressure on you.

Hey Sk100. I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through- that must be awful for you. I agree- surely you will be able to postpone your viva given your circumstances at the moment? You must be amazingly strong to have gone through this and yet still got your thesis handed in...I can't think that anyone would blame or question you for needing some time to come to terms with things and get yourself into the right mindset for your viva. I assume that your supervisor is aware of the situation? I also hope that you are able to get some proper support to help you with everything that has happened. I wouldn't think twice about delaying your viva until you feel that you can get through it. I really hope that you're okay and that you have someone looking after you. Best wishes, KB.

Thank you both for your replies. It was certainly an ordeal to submit but I am relieved. I have thought about postponing but then I need closure on this whole process so that I can just move on with my life. I will try to get throuh it.

Hi Sk100, I'm so sorry for your loss. It must be very hard. As the others have said, under the circumstances it should be possible to postpone the viva. On the other hand, you might find it helpful to just get it done and get it out of the way. If you do, they should take what happened into account, in my opinion.

Above all, take care of yourself.

Hi again Sk100...I can see your point. I had a couple of bereavements of close family members in my undergrad years, both during exam periods. I was informed that I didn't have to take the exams- I could sit them at the end of the year or they could just take my average mark and use that to project my overall mark, but I still sat them anyway. I just wanted to get them over and done with and have a clear path in front of me. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a child, but I can understand why you would just want to get your viva over and done with. You sound like a strong person- best of luck whatever you decide to do. KB