Home and Away's Sonny ends things with Dana as he struggles with life in a wheelchair

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Sonny ends things with Dana as he struggles to adjust to life at the Spinal Rehab Centre, telling her she didn’t sign up for the life he now faces.

In the aftermath of the devastating train crash, Sonny’s (Ryan Bown) life was turned upside down.

Pulled from the wreckage with serious injuries, and with no feeling in his legs, Sonny was later told that swelling around his spine could leave him permanently paralysed—news that left both him and girlfriend Dana (Ally Harris) reeling.

Determined to support him through the ordeal, Dana threw herself into helping Sonny adjust to his new reality.

Drawing on her nursing experience, she began researching rehabilitation clinics and treatment programs, determined to give Sonny the best possible chance at recovery.

But Sonny struggled with the intensity of her approach as he tried to process what had happened.

When Dana and Harper (Jessica Redmayne) later presented Sonny with the rehabilitation options they had found, he lashed out, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated that everyone else seemed to be making decisions about his future without asking what he wanted.

Soon afterwards, Sonny faced another difficult milestone when he attempted to use a wheelchair for the first time.

Embarrassed and angry at his situation, he struggled to manoeuvre himself into the chair as John (Shane Withington) arrived to check in on him.

After telling Sonny how upset Dana was, John gently pointed out that the only way forward would be through rehabilitation and physiotherapy, but it was clear Sonny was still grappling with the enormity of the challenge ahead.

Next week, Sonny takes the next step in his recovery as he arrives at the North Coastal Spinal Rehab Centre to begin treatment.

It proves confronting from the outset. Shortly after arriving, Sonny meets fellow patient Louis (Adam Bowes), a paraplegic who has clearly embraced life in a wheelchair and tries to inject some humour into the situation.

Louis jokes about organising wheelchair races later that day, before Sonny is approached by Warren (Alfie Gledhill), the therapist who will oversee his rehabilitation program.

As Warren begins showing Sonny around the facility, it quickly becomes clear just how overwhelming the situation is for him.

When Warren explains that Sonny will be undergoing both physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, Sonny presses for answers about how long he will need to stay—only to learn that his progress will largely depend on how hard he works once treatment begins.

But before Sonny can even begin adjusting to his new surroundings, Warren pulls Dana aside and delivers some difficult advice.

If Sonny is going to adapt to life in rehab, he needs to do it without relying on Dana.

Explaining that Sonny needs the space to come to terms with his situation on his own, Warren insists that Dana leave—assuring her that the best way she can help Sonny right now is by stepping back. Though clearly reluctant, Dana eventually agrees.

Sonny is immediately unsettled when she tells him she has to go, questioning why she’s leaving and admitting he doesn’t think he can handle things on his own.

Claiming she needs to see Harper, Dana does her best to reassure him, promising that he’ll be fine and reminding him she’s only ever a phone call away.

When Warren later shows Sonny to his room and runs through the rehab schedule, the reality of what lies ahead begins to sink in.

Frustrated, Sonny snaps at Warren, pointing out that he has no idea what it’s like to be stuck in a wheelchair wondering whether he’ll ever walk again.

Warren remains calm, telling Sonny that his job is to help him find out whether he will walk again—but he can’t do that if Sonny refuses to work with him.

Back in Summer Bay, Dana breaks down as she recounts the day to John, admitting that leaving Sonny behind was far harder than she expected.

Drawing on his own experience after son Jett (Will McDonald) was left paralysed whilst serving in Afghanistan, John reassures her that sometimes the hardest thing to do is step aside and let someone find their own way.

Meanwhile, Sonny struggles to adjust to life inside the centre.

When Louis later challenges him to pick a bar of chocolate up from the floor whilst seated in his wheelchair, Sonny quickly loses patience—admitting that he hates the chair and everything it represents.

Quickly becoming fed up of Sonny’s negativity, Louis offers him a different perspective.

Unlike him, Sonny still has hope. With an incomplete spinal cord injury, there remains a chance that Sonny could walk again—something Louis reminds him not to take for granted.

Louis then explains why Sonny’s attitude strikes such a nerve. After his own accident, his girlfriend walked away, unable to face a future with him in a wheelchair. Hearing Sonny complain while still having both a supportive partner and a chance of recovery is difficult for him to understand.

Shaken by the conversation, Sonny later calls Dana and asks her to return.

When Dana arrives with pizzas—taking Warren’s earlier joke about the new patient buying dinner for everyone seriously—she assumes Sonny simply needs some reassurance after a difficult first day.

But Sonny has something else on his mind, as he tells Dana that he’s ending things between them.

Dana immediately dismisses the idea, insisting that she doesn’t care about what has happened to him. But Sonny refuses to reconsider, telling her that she didn’t sign up for the life he now faces.

As Dana pleads with him not to push her away, Sonny remains firm.

Their relationship, he tells her, is over.

Taking a moment in the corridor, Dana is approached by Louis, who jokingly asks whether she has already given up on Sonny.

The remark is enough to spur Dana back into action. Returning straight to Sonny’s room, she makes it clear that she doesn’t accept his decision and refuses to walk away so easily.

But Sonny shuts the conversation down. Insisting that he doesn’t want to be with her, he tells Dana she can’t force someone to stay in a relationship and orders her to leave.

“I beg to differ actually,” a defiant Dana replies.

“I don’t want to be with you, okay Dana?” Sonny coldly replies. “Now get that through your head, and leave!”

As a heartbroken Dana walks out, Warren heads straight to Sonny’s room and challenges him over his decision to push Dana away.

“Great work,” Warren states sarcastically. “Now what’s your plan?”

That evening, Dana confides in Harper about what’s happened. Explaining that Sonny ended things because he believes she didn’t sign up for the life he now faces, Dana says he seems convinced she isn’t strong enough to cope with the challenges ahead.

Harper tries to reassure her that it could simply be a knee-jerk reaction as Sonny struggles to come to terms with his new reality. Dana wants to believe she’s right, clinging to the hope that Sonny will wake up the next day and realise he’s made a mistake.

Meanwhile, alone in his room at the rehab centre that night, Sonny breaks down in tears.

The next morning, Dana runs into John at the coffee cart, where she admits that Sonny has dumped her and that she’s still trying to convince herself he’ll change his mind.

John offers his support, agreeing that Sonny is probably not thinking clearly.

Shortly afterwards, Warren unexpectedly turns up and asks to speak with Dana. With John remaining with them on Dana’s request, Warren explains that Sonny is in a difficult headspace and is trying to regain some sense of control over his life.

As painful as it is, Warren gently advises that the best thing Dana can do right now is respect Sonny’s wishes and give him the space he’s asked for—while holding onto hope that, in time, he may come to see things differently.

Back at the rehabilitation centre, Warren later checks in on Sonny as he begins settling into the program.

Though Sonny admits Dana probably hates him, he insists that ending the relationship was for her own good—believing that without worrying about her, he can focus entirely on the long road to recovery ahead.

Has Sonny made the right decision?

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Here are the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in the UK:

Monday 16th March (Episode 8652)

Cash’s lie catches up to him. Is Leah walking out on her marriage? Remi’s symptoms multiply.

Tuesday 17th March (Episode 8653)

Eden’s crushed by Remi’s news. Mali questions Holden’s motives. Cash and Levi are in the doghouse.

Wednesday 18th March (Episode 8654)

Does Kerrie deserve a goodbye? Sonny’s confronted by his new life. Mali sees through Holden.

Thursday 19th March (Episode 8655)

Kerrie has a final surprise for Tane. Dana refuses to give up without a fight. Archie’s family come together.

Friday 20th March (Episode 8656)

Tane’s world is turned upside down. Can Jo really trust her new boyfriend? Cash fears for his friend.

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