Episode Report Card Sara M: D+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Take a Flying Leap
By Sara M | Season 9 | Episode 20 | Aired on 05.08.2005
Lucy and Kevin prepare for Kevin's very own version of Mr. Mom! Lucy kisses the baby goodbye, and Kevin asks her if he should feed Savannah some of his sandwich if she gets hungry while Lucy's out. Kevin loves his sandwiches! Lucy starts to freak out, and Kevin laughs at her that he was just kidding. "It's not funny," says Lucy. Damn right, it ain't. "Blooowaaha," says Savannah, kicking her legs up in the air. She's looking forward to a day without her horrible mother around.
RevCam's just getting into his office when Lynn stops by, asking how RevCam's conversation with Russell went. RevCam tells her that there's a reason Russell wants the girls to move to Memphis. Has Lynn ever heard of St. Jude's Research Hospital? She has, but thought it was only for kids with cancer. She's wrong, of course, as the hospital is a research facility for many other childhood diseases as well, including sickle cell. Russell heard about this and got some information that RevCam claims is "very interesting." I bet it isn't. Arms folded defiantly, Lynn says she's not sending her kids anywhere just because her deadbeat ex thinks something is interesting. "They have a new drug," says RevCam, "one that won't make you sick." One that won't make you crash your car, or make you feel three feet thick. Until Ray Parker Jr. steals your song for the Ghostbusters theme. RevCams PSAs that St. Jude's has had a drug for sickle cell for a while now, and it's been very helpful to a lot of kids with limited side effects. Shouldn't Lynn know this? Wouldn't a mother spend, like, every waking moment research her kids' serious illness and any possible drugs for it, instead of just hoping that someone she knows happens to stumble onto a research hospital like that?
Lynn says that there's no way she can afford any new drugs. She's already spending thirty thousand dollars a year for each kid already. Wait wait wait -- Lynn is spending sixty thousand dollars a year, and she's only working one part-time job? While Zoe's parents are working thirty jobs between them, and still can't pay for food? The hell? It's not an issue anyway, as St. Jude's pays for whatever insurance doesn't cover. Plus, the new mystery drug could very well eliminate a lot of those medical expenses. Kids are in less pain, they're in the hospital less, and it seems to decrease the likelihood of strokes. "But it's a RISK," says Lynn. Yes, Lynn, it is. You'll have to take a LEAP OF FAITH. RevCam says that the long-term effects of the new drug aren't known yet, but the long-term effects of blood transfusions are, and they're not good.
Lynn says she can just give the drug to her kids in Glenoak. There's no need to move to Memphis and let Russell "take over." At this point, Russell enters the room and asks if he can explain himself. As Lynn rolls her eyes, Russell says he doesn't want to take anything over. "I will think about. The new treatment plan," says Lynn, refusing to look at Russell. But she won't think about moving the girls to Memphis, and certainly not to live with Russell, the family-abandoner. Russell says he just wants a second chance, and he makes enough money to support Lynn and the girls, so Lynn wouldn't have to work. She can be there for her kids all the time, and he can be there for them sometimes! Russell says that Nurse Cornball at St. Jude's told him that the new drug "doesn't just heal sickle cell patients; it heals families." Lynn and Russell make emotional faces at each other, and RevCam, his eyes probably also brimming with tears, says that Lynn doesn't have to make her decision right now. Russell says the sooner she makes it, the better it will be for their daughters. He cares a great deal about their welfare for someone who just spent the last five years not even bothering to call. I mean, did he ever even stop to think that emotional consequences his abandonment had on his daughters wasn't doing their health any favors? I think it's been proven that happy patients get healthy faster. Tonya and Kristy probably weren't too happy when they woke up one morning to find their father gone. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" Russell asks. Oooh, he IS Mr. Deep Pockets! Coffee on the Promenade costs about as much as that annual sickle cell care bill. It's easy to have a lot of money when you aren't busy with things like child-rearing, though. Lynn wipes her tears and thinks about taking a LEAP OF FAITH.