Miracles in Summer Bay! Disappearing disabilities

[voyager50]

Yet another character has been told they will never walk again but we all know that in Summer Bay this is never the case so will Jett really be paralysed for life?

For some reason they just don't want to keep characters not being able to walk long term.

So far Angel, Mason, Casey have all made fast and full recoveries and I am sure there are more I have forgotten.

I think Seb is the only one that has remained in a wheelchair and he didn't stay in the series for long once he was in it.

Just like VJ's profound deafness that disappeared along with his cochlear implant when he was about 3, disability is forgotten in Summer Bay after a few episodes and no one is ever featured with one long term.

 

[D.B]

I do agree, and I think it's a shame that the show doesn't have a permanently disabled main character, that would be a very interesting and powerful storyline. And also, it's not the same way as being paralysed, but I was also thinking on the same grounds as Josh's blindness.Just a few months, and he miraculously (or not, depending how you look at it), he got his sight back.  

[Lunar]

Yeah its very frustrating. They seem to treat any mental health storylines the same way. They struggle with OCD/an ED/anxiety etc for a few weeks, see a professional a couple of times, then they magically get better on their own and its never mentioned again. It just doesn't feel realistic. I get maybe they don't want to linger on storylines for too long, but relapses or going through multiple bad periods is common. 

[Lila_Q]

I think with these storylines TPTB don't do justice to the people with real disabilities. Both Casey and Mason were told they wont be able to walk again and yet they were back running the gym in no time. Same as Willow after being shot.

Spencer had bipolar for like two weeks, it was same with April and OCD as well as Oscar with eating disorder. I don't think it would be too hard to have continuity on the show. TV show Friends managed to do that with Monica's character. She had OCD and it hasn't been shown in every episode but it was mentioned from time to time (for 10 seasons). Most characters on H&A don't stay for more then 4 years. Disorders like bipolar and OCD are for life and if TPTB want to go that road they need to take it more seriously. 

What I liked about Maggie's cancer storyline as well as Coco's bulimia is that the writers took the time with it - there was no miracle recovery. It was same with Dex and his brain injury, we could see consequences for months. Even when he was physically well he had problem remembering and studying.

What really annoys me is how they approach kidnapping storylines. Very often characters get kidnapped and as soon as they are released they just move on. Kidnapping would take a toll on everyone, and yet nobody went to counseling or suffered PTSD from kidnapping (or from being shot).  

 

[adam436]

Hayley was also supposedly permanently disfigured after the car accident in 2004 with Brodie.

Sally had OCD after her aborted wedding to Kerian, but I think that was revisited at least once again. 

 

Not really a disability, but was the medical reason as to why Pippa was unable to have children? She got pregnant in 1988, 1992 and again in the late 90s after she left Summer Bay. 

 

3 hours ago, Lila_Q said:

What really annoys me is how they approach kidnapping storylines. Very often characters get kidnapped and as soon as they are released they just move on. Kidnapping would take a toll on everyone, and yet nobody went to counseling or suffered PTSD from kidnapping (or from being shot).  

There was Ailsa - she suffered PTSD after being held up at the Diner. 

I'd also say Steven Matheson had a severe case of PTSD after his parents died. I know it happened prior to the series beginning, but he hadn't dealt with it yet. 

[voyager50]

5 hours ago, Lunar said:

Yeah its very frustrating. They seem to treat any mental health storylines the same way. They struggle with OCD/an ED/anxiety etc for a few weeks, see a professional a couple of times, then they magically get better on their own and its never mentioned again. It just doesn't feel realistic. I get maybe they don't want to linger on storylines for too long, but relapses or going through multiple bad periods is common. 

And another non- mental health recent one was Roo and her back injury that was going to cause permanent pain from when Ryder hit her with the car - it  was never mentioned again apart from when Alf said 'Mind you back' when they fell down the hole at the school.

 

5 hours ago, D.B said:

I do agree, and I think it's a shame that the show doesn't have a permanently disabled main character, that would be a very interesting and powerful storyline. And also, it's not the same way as being paralysed, but I was also thinking on the same grounds as Josh's blindness.Just a few months, and he miraculously (or not, depending how you look at it), he got his sight back.  

And, in the same way they never have a gay character for long - it would be really good to have a long term  gay or lesbian couple in the show too.

- 16 minutes ago, adam436 said:

Hayley was also supposedly permanently disfigured after the car accident in 2004 with Brodie.

I can't seem to get the quotes to work properly - it keeps merging and letting me edit other people's post which I did accidently!

And what about Marilyn's burns?  Where are they now?

[Lunar]

48 minutes ago, voyager50 said:

And another non- mental health recent one was Roo and her back injury that was going to cause permanent pain from when Ryder hit her with the car - it  was never mentioned again apart from when Alf said 'Mind you back' when they fell down the hole at the school.

I completely forgot about Roo's back! 

4 hours ago, Lila_Q said:

What I liked about Maggie's cancer storyline as well as Coco's bulimia is that the writers took the time with it - there was no miracle recovery. It was same with Dex and his brain injury, we could see consequences for months. Even when he was physically well he had problem remembering and studying.

See I feel the opposite about Coco's bulimia. At the time I thought they were handling it well, but since then she's had no relapses and they've barely mentioned it - even though she clearly struggled with anxiety (which seemed to be the cause of her binging and purging) when Maggie had cancer. I think it would've been good to revisit it during that storyline. Even if they didn't actually have her relapse but just mentioned it, like we're worried you might, or we can see you're anxious so talk to someone.

Another thing is that guest characters with disabilities or illnesses tend to not magically get better. Like we had Beth with her heart problem, Duncan's wife who I think died off screen? or was clearly going to die. 

48 minutes ago, voyager50 said:

And, in the same way they never have a gay character for long - it would be really good to have a long term  gay or lesbian couple in the show too.

I agree but sadly I can't see them doing it as they seem too worried about being conservative. I just think it'd be nice to have more diversity on the show in general.

[Red Ranger 1]

8 hours ago, voyager50 said:

Yet another character has been told they will never walk again but we all know that in Summer Bay this is never the case so will Jett really be paralysed for life?

Who else was told they'd never walk again and did? I know you listed a few characters who spent time in a wheelchair, but I don't think any of them were actually told "You'll never walk again", it was just a possibility. I think having actually stated it outright without significant words like "might" or "probably" or "maybe", it would be more of a cheat if Jett did recover, so I'm hopeful they will actually follow through with what they've established.

1 hour ago, adam436 said:

Not really a disability, but was the medical reason as to why Pippa was unable to have children? She got pregnant in 1988, 1992 and again in the late 90s after she left Summer Bay. 

Well, yes and no. There was no medical reason why she couldn't get pregnant but she had health issues that meant it was dangerous for her to carry to term.It was a major part of the storyline during her first pregnancy but pretty much completely ignored during the second.Her third pregnancy was off screen so we don't know what happened.

[16770052]

There’s also ones like Seb and Maddi who have injuries but leave straight after.

It will be a HUGE mistake if they make Jett walk again. It’s unlikely Jett will be a permanent character anyway so I don’t see why they would have him recover. They need to show the viewers that paralysed characters can still have a happy ending without a full recovery. It’s insulting to those with true disabilities.

[baywatcher]

On 11/05/2019 at 04:52, 16770052 said:

It will be a HUGE mistake if they make Jett walk again. It’s unlikely Jett will be a permanent character anyway so I don’t see why they would have him recover. They need to show the viewers that paralysed characters can still have a happy ending without a full recovery. It’s insulting to those with true disabilities.

I think that this is a really important point, well made.

Real life small communities like SB have a diverse range of people with 'disabilities' (I use that term reluctantly), so why not on H&A?

It would be so easy to introduce a character who is blind, deaf, in a wheelchair etc. onto the show, rather than have a regular character get injured for dramatic effect only to have them be completely cured five minutes later.  It really does send the wrong message. There must be actors available who could play these roles.

Possibly contradicting myself, I do think that having a token 'disabled' character is almost as insulting as having none (e.g. that they were there just to 'tick a box') but it would be good to see true representation.