Lady Luck isn't particularly fond of the doctors in Grey's Anatomy. They tend to suffer too many misfortunes, though that's all part of the writing to trigger emotional moments. During the 17-season series run, plenty of doctors have died. There have also been times when the doctors have found themselves needing serious medical intervention to save their lives.
Whenever they become patients, doctors on the ABC medical drama tend to have an advantage as they are treated by people they know all too well. Given the bonds between staff, the desire to do everything possible to save a colleague also tends to be greater, compared to the desire to save a random patient.
Meredith Contracts COVID-19
The inclusion of a COVID-19 storyline on the show was always a guarantee. When Seattle becomes one of hardest hit cities by the respiratory disease, Meredith does shifts at the ICU dedicated to COVID-19 patients. Due to the strenuous nature of the job, she frequently takes naps in the COVID-19 ICU and this causes her to contract the disease.
Though she insists on being quarantined in a hotel to make room for other patients, her condition is dire hence she has to be admitted to the hospital. During her illness, she keeps dreaming about her dead lover Derek. The two even go on to have the wedding they never had at a beach.
Derek Gets Shot By Gary Clark
Derek's time as chief is mostly drama-free except on one occasion. When he makes an order for a woman to be taken off life support, her husband Gary Clark becomes overwhelmed with grief. He tries to sue the hospital but loses. He thus decides to go on a shooting spree at Seattle Grace Mercy West. He finds Derek and shoots him, so Cristina and Jackson Avery try their best to save his life.
Things almost go south for Derek when Clark shows up at the OR and demands that Cristina and Jackson let Derek die. Thinking quickly, Jackson manipulates the heart monitor to flatline, thus making Clark believe that Derek is dead. After the incident, Derek takes a while to recover but he eventually gets better.
Bailey Suffers A Heart Attack
Bailey is never one to get sick often, but a heart condition once takes her by surprise. Just before her son's school presentation, Bailey realizes something is wrong with her body. She goes to Seattle Presbyterian Hospital where she informs the nurse that she thinks she is having a heart attack. After analyzing her, doctors dismiss her concerns. Bailey's request for a cardiac stress test is also ignored.
Moments after Maggie and Richard show up, Bailey collapses. She thus has to be taken to surgery. With Maggie, Richard, and Ben by her side, Bailey makes a full recovery without any major complications.
The Plane Crash Causes Arizona To Lose A Leg
The plane crash is still fresh in the minds of fans as one of the most devastating incidents in the series. Though Arizona survives, her leg becomes badly infected after spending four days stranded in the woods. An amputation is recommended by Owen and other doctors, but Arizona resists the idea.
She forces Callie to try and save the leg, so Callie schedules a surgery. However, she began crashing due to the infection, forcing Alex to cut the leg. Though it's the best decision, Arizona becomes extremely angry and depressed. She blames Callie for not doing enough to save the leg, causing friction in their relationship.
Izzie Gets Cancer
One of the worst diseases to ever trouble mankind gets explored through Izzie. When she begins hallucinating about her dead fiancé Denny, Izzie figures something is wrong. She creates an imaginary patient named "Patient X"(though it's really her) and tries to get the interns to diagnose her.
It's soon discovered that she has Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma with only a 5% survival rate. Cristina sets her up with a renowned surgical oncologist but Izzie skips the appointment. Cristina is forced to tell the rest of the doctors about Izzie's cancer and they all intervene to try and get her treatment. After surgery, she goes on to have a normal life.
Richard Webber Is Electrocuted During A Storm
Richard Webber is always the get-it-done type. When a storm causes a power outage at the hospital, he heads to the basement to look at the transfer switch so that he can get the power back. Unfortunately, he gets electrocuted.
Minutes after he is taken to the OR, Catherine Avery orders the surgeons to close him up, fearing he would die. She plans to move him to another hospital but Meredith goes behind her back and schedules another surgery. After all, Richard had chosen her to make decisions for him. It turns out to be a good decision as Richard eventually recovers.
George Is Fatally Injured After Trying To Save A Woman From Getting Hit By A Bus
George's case is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking ones. He will always be remembered for the iconic line: "McDreamy was doing the McNasty with a McHottie?! That McBastard." What's even sadder is that misfortune strikes during his last day at the hospital. George decides to join the army to be a trauma surgeon so Richard gives him the last day off. While heading off, he notices a woman about to be hit by a bus and jumps to save her.
He is unrecognizable when he is rushed to the hospital but Meredith realizes who he is when he grabs her hand and traces "007," his nickname. Callie confirms that it is indeed George by checking his birthmark. He is taken to the OR but his brain swells so much, making him brain-dead.
Amelia Shepherd Develops A Tumor
Amelia is quite the expert at removing tumors so it comes as a surprise when she develops one too. An MRI scan shows she has a tumor in the frontal lobe of her head, something she tries to keep a secret with only Andrew and her former mentor Dr. Tom Koracick in the know. Though it's implied that her tumor had been affecting her decision-making for years, it emerges that her surgery record is even better than Derek's.
The operations to remove the benign grade I meningioma tumor goes fairly well. There's a bit of humor too since when Amelia wakes up, she begins speaking French, something she never knew she could do. After four days, she was discharged.
Stephanie Edwards Gets Severe Burns
Stephanie has an inspirational story in being been one of the few people to recover from Sickle Cell, thanks to a clinical trial at St. Jude. During her time as a doctor, fate hands her a major blow when sexual offender Keith grabs her and forces her to escort him out. Bailey initiates a lockdown to prevent the escape, but Keith starts a fire to override the systems.
Stephanie sprays him with alcohol but he ends up falling near oxygen tanks, causing a massive explosion resulting in Stephanie suffers severe burns. She spends time recovering at a burn unit in Texas but decides to quit her job due to trauma.
Cristina Yang Suffers A Miscarriage
For most of the series, Cristina's stance against babies is clear: she doesn't want to have one. She is thus understandably troubled when she gets pregnant with Preston Burke. She schedules an abortion without telling Burke since he has just broken up with her.
However, while performing a thoracotomy with Burke, she collapses. It's discovered that she has an ectopic pregnancy. Addison operates on her and realizes that a Fallopian tube had burst. Cristina loses the pregnancy and even though she didn't want it, she is deeply grieved.