OP has already appealed and NU did not change the award.
Yes, OP stated in another thread “we appealed and it did not work.”
I think a legitimate question is, was NU fully cognizant of all the circumstances when they rejected the appeal? I agree with @ItsJustSchool that the approach is important. One would think that if there is any case in which some flexibility is justified, this would be it. So if it were me, I would approach NU again, and perhaps try to speak to a more senior person.