There seems to be conflicting info on this:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum35/HTML/006006.html
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mrcimino1:
Past experience has been that if you are currently Platinum and do not requalify, you will only drop one level, to Gold, even if you have only 25,000 EQM's this year.
Likewise, if you are currently Gold, you will drop to Silver, even if you do not have the 25,000 miles necessary to qualify.
If you still want to write, I would go straight to the top, to Beth Shultis, and send along the supporting info. You might find that she will make an exception for you. Your chances will be greater if you happen to have a lot of those "high dollar segments" along with the miles you have earned.
In the meantime, best wishes for a speedy recovery for both of you.</font>