People Puzzles: Locke's Mysterious Condition

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Locke's Mysterious Condition

In (PIL) When Locke woke from the planecrash, there were odd black marks around his pants legs, as if they had been scorched. .
In (TR) Charlie uses a wheelchair to lug suitcases around. His comment is, "Well, look on the bright side. Whoever's this was is probably better off than we are."
In (WALK) When Locke, Kate and Michael encounter the boar for the first time Locke seems to lose the use of his legs temporarily after he's knocked to the ground. He has a flashback about his jerky supervisor Randy, telling him what he can't do. When he comes to, he's able to use his legs again.

In (WALK) There was a TENS machine by Locke's bedside in his apartment when he was talking on the phone with faux Helen.
This was confirmed by Raggs, one of the writing assistants:

Quote:

Raggs says: (Wed Nov 10 03:02:02 2004) If by "TENS machine" you mean a particular brand of Electric Muscle Stimulation device, you are correct.(thanks to grackle at the fuselage)

Use of a TENS machine may indicate that he was not actually paralyzed, but suffered from some other muscle-related ailment-car88win

In (WALK) Locke told the Melbourne Walkabout Tour agent that he had been living with his "condition" for four years. That meeting presumably took place within days before the crash, so his condition most likely started in or around the year 2000.

In (WALK) Transcript of conversation at Melbourne Walkabout Tours:

Quote:

TRAVEL AGENT: By omission, Mr. Locke. You neglected to tell us about your condition.
JOHN LOCKE: My condition is not an issue. I've lived with it for four years. It's never kept me from doing anything.
TRAVEL AGENT: Well, unfortunately, it is an issue for our insurance company.

(WALK) As Claire reads the names of the deceased at the "funeral" Locke smiles when he sees his wheelchair in the burning fuselage

In (HORS)Locke empathized with Charlie while trying to help him quit heroin:

Quote:

CHARLIE: Listen to me, you old git. A man has...a right to some privacy.
LOCKE: Just hand it to me. You're going to run out. My guess is sooner rather than later. Painful detox is inevitable. Give it up now and at least it will be your choice.
CHARLIE: Don't talk to me like you know something about me.
LOCKE: I know a lot more about pain than you think. I don't envy what you are facing but I want to help.(emphasis added)

(NUM) Incidentally, the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institution is the same, where Lenny Sims was locked up when Hurley visited him. Hurley either stayed there as an inpatient, worked there, or visited someone frequently, because the doctor at the hospital knew him well.
In (DEM Locke is hit by a car in the parking lot of the toy store where he works.
Locke began living with his "condition" sometime after his kidney surgery, which occurred sometime between 1995 - 2000, estimated from the dates on Emily Annabeth Locke's admission papers to the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institution and her driver's license. This assumes the info on them is correct. Notably, both of those papers may have inaccurate information or may have been forged, as some of the information is conflicting - which could be intentional or could be a prop error.
In (DEM) Locke's leg was gored by a piece of the trebuchet when it broke apart upon impact with the Hatch. He learned the extent of his injury from Boone; he apparently felt no pain. He held a hot stick to his leg and didn't flinch. Later that day, his legs began to fail. He saw himself in his wheelchair again during the prophetic vision where his mother pointed toward the crash and Boone appeared bloody.

In (DEM) He convinced Boone to search for the crash with him, and again tried to hide his leg problems from Boone until he reached the point where he was unable to walk.

Locke told Boone he was paralyzed 4 years before the crash:

Quote:

BOONE: (helplessly) What is wrong with you? Are you crazy?
(Locke rubs his legs.)
LOCKE: I was in a wheelchair.
BOONE: What?
LOCKE: I was paralyzed for four years. The plane -- our plane -- I was in that chair when we took off, but not after we crashed.
BOONE: Why were you in a wheelchair?
LOCKE: It doesn't matter anymore. But this island ... it changed me. It made me whole. Now it's trying to take it back, and I don't know why. (Boone swallows.) But it wants me to follow what I saw.

Transcript courtesy of tvtwiz.com, Written by CARLTON CUSE & DAMON LINDELOF, (c) 2005 Touchstone Television.

Boone then carried him through the jungle in search of the Beechcraft.

In (DEM) Locke remained sitting on the valley floor while Boone climbed the cliff to inspect the Beechcraft. After Boone was injured, Locke regained the use of his legs. He ran to the plane, pulled Boone out, threw him over his shoulder and miraculously carried him all the way back to camp. His gait appeared unsteady, but he made it.
In (DEM) Locke dropped Boone at camp and then returned to the Hatch, where he crouched over the window, pounding and weeping, "Why!? I gave you everything you wanted..." Then a light turned on and shined in his face.
In (EX3) We see Locke in a flashback of Michael and Walt before they board the plane. He is in his wheelchair. Locke's legs were completely disabled before he got on the plane, as is evident by the fact that he had to be carried onto the plane by attendants, much to his dismay and humilation.

There were no apparent problems with his legs in subsequent episodes. (yet)

Walkabout Flashback

(3 Minutes)
Locke, after injurying his leg in LOCKDOWN, has a fracture. But by 3 Minutes, he is healed enough to be able to walk without crutches. Just as Rose hints she believes that they both knew it wouldn't take as long as Jack claimed it would for him to heal