History Main / ThrowingOffTheDisability

** In this troper's opinion, this is made a {{BrokenAesop}} by the fact that the actor, Kevin McHale, is not actually disabled himself! This troper is angry enough about having to be the one to point this out here...

* Temporary paralysis is a frequent version of HollywoodHealing seen on SoapOperas. Frequently, the character snaps out of their paralysis in order to save themselves or another character from a life-threatening situation.

** In the AlternateContinuity manga ''NightmareOfNunally'', [[spoiler:she is healed of her blindness and inability to walk by the end]].

An infamous commercial had the late ChristopherReeve standing up and walking away from his wheelchair, while explaining the importance of funding research for the treatment of disabled people. The ad, of course, used CGI to make him walk, and was supposed to engender hope for the future, but the ad mostly got Reeve WhatTheHellHero reactions from the general public for making it look as though cures for paralysis would be available in the near future, and a few crushed people who were fooled into thinking that he really ''had'' been cured.

* John Locke on ''{{Lost}}'' used to be in a wheelchair before he came to [[GeniusLoci the island]], now he's a boar-hunting expert tracker with a special destiny (maybe).

A character who has been disabled for an extended period, often as a cripple or blind will suddenly regain their use of the disabled organ. Explanations for this tend to fall into three varieties: First, it could be a form of heroic will; Second, and most believably, their injury could be one from which they could recover, and they happened to have been healed by the plot-relevant moment; Third, they might not have actually been disabled at all, and it was just an ObfuscatingDisability; [[DisorganizedOutlineSpeech Fourth]], their otherwise incurable disability was miraculously cured either through divine means or by AppliedPhlebotinum.

* Parodied in a famous ''SaturdayNightLive'' sketch which billed itself as an alternate ending to ''ItsAWonderfulLife''. George and the townsfolk think that Mr. Potter is pulling the ObfuscatingStupidity version and in a subversion of his KarmaHoudini of the actual film, throw him out of his wheelchair. Turns out he actually is crippled.

* [[ItWasHisSled Famous]] ObfuscatingStupidity example at the [[TheUsualSuspectsEnding end]] of ''TheUsualSuspects''

* Averted on ''PicketFences'' for realism's sake, when the older brother recouperates after getting shot. The gradual reduction of his spinal cord's swelling, that restores his ability to walk, takes up a good part of that season, and his getting out of his wheelchair is preceded by episodes where he regains a sense of touch in his feet and the ability to urinate without a catheter.

* In ''Transylvania 6-5000'', the hunchbacked butler gradually stands up straight while delivering an indignant speech about [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer the indignities he and his family have suffered]]. His wife and son then stand straight as well, revealing that they'd only been stooping because that's what everyone expects of servants in a spooky Transylvanian castle.

* In FistOfTheNorthStar, one of the NantoRokuSeiken Shuu recovers his eyesight at the brink of death, for a TearJerker moment where his greatest wish, seeing Kenshiro's grown-up face, is fulfilled, allowing him to die at peace, knowing the guidance of his star was not wrong.

* In the comic ''TheIncredibleHulk'' Bruce Banner gets ALS, and is eventually cured by Reed Richards. (The issue ends with Banner BreakingTheFourthWall, saying it's Just A Story and there's no real cure for ALS, encouraging people to donate to the research to Find A Cure.)

* A [[ItWasHisSled famous]] type 1 example (although hardly heroic) is the title character of ''DoctorStrangelove''. As he enthuses over the upcoming end of the world, he rises from his wheelchair to proclaim [[AdolfHitler "Mein Fuhrer]], I can walk!" According to some rumors, this was the result of the actor, PeterSellers, forgetting that Strangelove was a cripple and [[ThrowItIn improvised the line on the spot to cover his mistake]].

* A [[ItWasHisSled famous]] type 1 example (although hardly heroic) is the title character of ''DoctorStrangelove''. As he enthuses over the upcoming end of the world, he rises from his wheelchair to proclaim [[AdolfHitler "Mein Fuhrer]], I can walk!"