Run Away, Netflix’s latest Harlan Coben adaptation, has many twists and turns. However, for the EDS community, the most meaningful revelation isn’t even a plot. It Is one of the first accurate depictions of an ambulatory wheelchair user.

Run Away is a dark thriller/drama about Simon Greene, who is searching for his daughter Paige. With every step he gets closer to her, another secret uncovers that threatens to – quite literally – blow up his family. The youngest daughter of the Greene family, Anya, played by Ellie Henry, uses a wheelchair in some scenes, but walks or stands unaided in others. And that’s not explained in the film (on purpose). And the public reaction has shown exactly why this kind of representation is still so needed.

Ambulatory wheelchair users are often misunderstood. It’s incredibly hard for non-disabled people to comprehend why a person may need a wheelchair one day and walk the next, even though many disabilities are dynamic, which means they fluctuate on a daily basis (or even from one moment to another). Many chronic illnesses progress dynamically. However, we rarely ever see this group of disabilities represented on mainstream TV.

Anya is not the main focus of the thriller. But her presence has become one of the most talked-about elements online—because her disability doesn’t match what many viewers expect to see on screen. Commentators online questioned whether the ambulatory wheelchair use was a continuity mistake by the director. This reaction is familiar for most people living with invisible and dynamic disabilities: if someone can stand up, the public often assumes they don’t need a wheelchair. The stereotype most people have on their minds is a paralyzed person that cannot move their legs at all. This leads to the “oh my God, she is cured” kind of scenario with strangers in grocery stores whenever an ambulatory wheelchair user gets up to reach an item higher up on the shelf. In reality, many wheelchair users can stand up or walk short distances but still rely on their chair to manage pain, fatigue, dizziness, instability, or other symptoms.

Henry told RadioTimes.com that she expected the online commentary—and that she raised the issue early with the production team, but that she specifically decided against explaining her wheelchair use. In real life, Henry lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is an ambulatory wheelchair user. Henry’s disability is just a natural fact in the show, with no particular focus on, which is a significant shift from how disability mostly appears in mainstream TV: either as a central “issue story,” or as something that must be explained so non-disabled audiences don’t feel confused. Run Away makes a different choice: disability is present, but not turned into a plot device.

However, the fact that the show cast an actually disabled actor for a disabled character isn’t even the most special about Henry’s role! Initially, Henry’s character was not written to be disabled. But since Henry is a wheelchair user in real life, the producers changed her character to be disabled as well!  That’s notable because the entertainment industry has a long history of doing the opposite: disabled characters are eliminated or not even created, and disabled actors are only cast for roles that are explicitly written around disability. Here, a character who wasn’t originally disabled becomes disabled because a disabled actor was given the chance to play the role.

And this representation is so important for the EDS community. People with EDS constantly have to explain themselves to other people. The sheer variety of presentations and symptoms are rarely portrayed on mainstream shows, particularly when it comes to mobility aids. 

It’s important to also mention what Run Away doesn’t solve: Anya isn’t the lead. Her role is small compared to the central mystery. But for many viewers—especially those living with EDS or other fluctuating disabilities—seeing ambulatory wheelchair use on a major platform at all is still uncommon and something to be hopeful about. And by letting the ambulatory wheelchair use unexplained, Run Away has actually created momentum that raised more awareness than if they’d had wasted a dialogue in the show on it. In the end, it isn’t a continuity error. It’s a representation gap.

Karina Sturm

January 2026