Now that Teen Mom 2‘s Leah Calvert and Corey Simms finally have an understanding of daughter Ali Simms’ disability, their focuses have shifted to keeping the adorable 4-year-old optimistic and empowered in spite of the physical challenges she deals with on a daily basis. So, imagine how heartbroken Leah was when Corey told her Ali made an offhand comment about not being strong.
“She said, ‘Daddy, I’m not strong because I have muscular dystrophy and I can’t do a lot of things.’ Now, I don’t know what 4-year-old knows that,” Corey told his ex-wife. “I don’t understand how she even knows that… And I about lost it… I sat down and talked to her about it and told her, ‘You are strong.’ She just acted like, ‘Yeah, I got it. This is how it is.”
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no,” Leah responded. “Right now she’s young and she’s going to play pity party, you know? We are her parents (and need) to lift her up. You fall, you get back up. You keep doing it.”
Based on the girls’ heart lollipops and the look of the West Virginia weather, it seems the scene was filmed in February. The conversation may have inspired Leah and Corey to boost Ali’s confidence by proving what she can do because, just weeks later, Ali joined sister Aleeah’s cheerleading squad for a competition in Ohio!
Leah with husband Jeremy Calvert and daughters Addie, Aleeah and Ali on the Fourth of July.
These days, Ali appears to be doing well physically, despite her degenerative disorder… Plus, the pre-K graduated recently said something that proves she’s got a whole lot of mental strength!
When al grows up she wants to be a Doctor just like mommy wanted to be and aleeah wants to be a nurse! #nothingisimpossible
— Leah D. Calvert (@TM2LeahDawn) July 7, 2014
Teen Mom 2 returns to MTV on Wednesday, July 16 at 10/9c.
