Everyone sits. But what happens when even that simple action is enough to cause severe back pain?
Despite the simplistic name, getting diagnosed with a sitting disability means your life is about to get much, much more complicated. When every bend and turn means suffering, even the most ordinary of events ends up a challenge. Long car, train, and plane rides are excruciating. Even sitting a table for the length of a meal is unthinkable. Forget about going to the movies unless you plan to stand in the back. And at the office, while everyone else relaxes at their desks, you’re forced to remain upright in your cubicle for eight long hours.
In Can’t Sit: Living with a Sitting Disability , author Rick Lunkenheimer chronicles his journey with a sitting disability and all the inconveniences and pains it presents. Starting from his initial spikes of minor back pain to a life living with what has only recently been labeled a disability, Lunkenheimer takes us through the myriad of doctors’ visits, misdiagnoses, rehabilitations, and even one major back surgery that follow.
Can’t Sit reveals just how awkward such a condition can make any social situation, not to mention the quizzical stares, amateur diagnoses, and accusations of insurance fraud that follow wherever you go. A heartwarming and educational story from start to finish, Lunkenheimer’s Can’t Sit paints a sympathetic picture of a life without the ability to sit—something we all take for granted.
