EVA student found fused to desk chair after months of online schooling

At 7:56 p.m. on Monday, March 20, Edina High School junior, Anna Seet, was rushed to M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital after being found unconscious in her bedroom by her parents. While loss of consciousness is not uncommon—as truly dedicated students will study until their brains shut down—one source reports that the skin of Seet’s thighs had fused to her leggings, and subsequently, to the desk chair itself. Fortunately, the chair’s ergonomic design enabled Seet to be easily transported into the ambulance.

According to Seet’s parents, Maria Seet and Dr. Peter Seet, Anna spent an average of 17 hours a day on her screen for both online school and homework assignments. Dr. Seet acknowledges that this amount of time is less than what is necessary to excel in school, yet Seet just has “pesky biological needs like sleep and nutrition.” Dr. Seet reports that his daughter rarely got out of her rolling desk chair, whose wheels enabled her to move quickly around her room. This efficiency saved precious moments for taking notes or studying flashcards. 

Seet’s parents delivered meals to her, and it was when Mrs. Seet brought dinner that day that she discovered her daughter slumped over her laptop and unresponsive. “It was horrifying,” Mrs. Seet said. “We purchased that chair because we thought the thrill of moving around in it could make up for the fact that she stares unblinking at a screen for hours during the day. It really seemed to give Anna a facsimile of autonomy in the beginning. We never thought it would turn out like this.” 

Seet is a member of the EHS Marching Band and the Girls’ Cross Country Team, and Dr. Seet says that his daughter had even started bringing her chair to band practices. “I thought she just liked it a lot,” he said. “Little did I know that it had plastered itself onto her like a parasite.” Dr. Seet is a professor of biology at the University of Minnesota. 

Seet’s doctors report that when she is stable, they hope to surgically remove the plastic and cloth fibers from the back of her thighs. Seet’s chair is highly recommended by the medical community for joint and back problems, and it is available for purchase at Costco and Target.