Teen Mom 2 has always been a tough show to watch. It is, after all, a TV show about teenage pregnancy. But season five is proving hard to watch for a different reason entirely: the struggle of Leah Messer Calvert and Corey Simms as they deal with their daughter's congenital muscular dystrophy diagnosis. Don't get me wrong -- their story is inspiring, and Leah's really showing what she's made of this season as the going gets tough for baby Ali.
But tonight we had to watch the Teen Mom trying to climb over even more hurdles as her dreams came crashing home around her. Remember that dream home Leah bought with husband Jeremy?
Yeah, they're putting that on the market as it just won't accommodate the wheelchair Ali will need to use soon enough. And Leah spent a portion of the episode looking at houses where they can have a horse -- a suggestion of Ali's doctors who say equine therapy can really help her condition. But a house like that would require moving some 40 minutes away from her family -- the family who steps up and helps her when Jeremy goes on long distance trips for work, leaving her home with three kids.
Think that's tough?
How about dealing with a co-parent who is in complete denial?
Corey has always been -- and continues to be -- a loving dad, but while Leah has gotten to that point where she's accepted that she has a child with special needs and is now focused on what she has to do to make her child's life the very best it can be, tonight we saw that Corey has a long, long way to go. He still can't believe this is happening.
It's a natural phase of the process for any parent who faces a diagnosis like Ali's. My heart went out to him tonight.
But seeing Leah have to argue with him about something as simple as putting Ali in school so they could avail themselves of early intervention services made me want to reach through the screen and shake him. His denial is putting more stress on her! It's not helping anything!
It's certainly not helping Ali! Her condition is congenital -- which means she was born with it -- and there is no going back. As harsh as it sounds, Corey needs to get with the program and start helping his ex-wife and his daughter!
As for the other girls, this episode was fairly quiet. Aubree started pre-school, and Adam actually showed up ... for pick-up. Hey, it's better than nothing, right? Maybe he's growing up.
We got to see more of his girlfriend, Taylor, who thinks she should be more involved in Aubree's life. That's sure to be tough for Chelsea, but Taylor does make a good point -- her soon-to-be born daughter, Paislee, and Aubree are going to be sisters. Taylor may not be a stepmom, but she will have to be involved in the kid's life in some form.
Javi found a house for him, Kail, Isaac and baby-to-be near the Air Force base in Delaware, and it looks like they're moving forward with making their first big purchase. Unfortunately, Kail's custody case is still up in the air -- so it's hard for her to get too excited about her dream house.
And then there's Jenelle who has moved into a house with Nathan -- who, it turns out, is that annoying guy who tries to sell you a time share when you go to a resort -- and it has a bedroom for Jace! Unfortunately she forgot half of his stuff at her last place (gee, thanks, Mom), but Barbara has decided she's responsible enough to have her little boy for overnights at the new place.
Not too exciting, but from the looks of the sneak peek of next week's Teen Mom 2, that's about to change ... Jenelle is talking about trying to have a baby with Nathan!
source thestir.cafemom.com