15 Grey's Anatomy Patients Who Checked In and Stole Our Hearts

Katie Bryce (Skyler Shaye) gets nostalgia bonus points for being Meredith's very first patient. Her burst aneurysm puts the entire show in motion. It's the first case that Derek and Meredith ever work on together, and we get literal chills when she pops up again in season 12 after Derek has passed away. Plus, Katie's case builds the foundation of Meredith and Cristina's friendship. Cristina comes to understand why Derek lets Meredith in on the surgery and keeps her secret about McDreamy.

Denny Duquette is a charming and sweet guy, albeit one with a weak heart. Izzie takes a liking to him, and he even proposes to her after she cuts his LVAD wire to get him a heart. He dies anyway, leaving poor Izzie in shambles. Anyway, Denny's character is important because he helps us understand Izzie better — especially what boundaries she's willing to break for the ones that she loves. Plus, his case brings the five interns standing together as a front after the whole LVAD wire-cutting debacle.

It's no secret that Meredith has beef with both of her parents. In season 3, we get a more nuanced view of her relationship with her Alzheimer-stricken mother (Kate Burton), who becomes lucid briefly and angrily comments about how mediocre Meredith has become. Anyway, Ellis eventually dies, but before she does, she visits Meredith in her dream state and tells her that she's anything but ordinary. Kate Burton even got an Emmy nomination for her role as Mama Grey, so yeah, she's a pretty big deal.

Rebecca Pope (Elizabeth Reaser) first pops up in the third season as Alex's pregnant Jane Doe patient. However, she plays a more prominent role in the fourth season when she and Alex start a fraught relationship. Her character brings out a sweeter and more vulnerable side to Alex, though they share a fairly dysfunctional experience together. Eventually, heeding Izzie's advice, Alex agrees to have Rebecca checked out by the psych department.

Before his marrying Izzie, Alex helps a graduating valedictorian named Becca (Amy Gumenick) who gets into a car accident with her friends. It's a pretty sad storyline since she ends up being the only person who lives of all her friends. Before she goes into surgery, Alex has her recite her speech to calm her down. Later on, he incorporates some of the lines into his wedding vows to Izzie, telling his wife that it's "the day his life begins."

Before Mandy Moore wrecked us on This Is Us, she played Mary Portman, Dr. Bailey's patient at Seattle Grace who needs a blood transfusion and asks her husband to get her a pizza the day of the Gary Clark shooting. When Clark comes in, the doctors hide and Mary plays dead. Charles ends up getting shot, and this culminates in one of season six's most emotional scene with Dr. Bailey trying her best to save him with Mary's help.

Six-month old Zola (Jela K. Moore) ends up at Grey Sloan to get surgery for her spina bifida. Meredith and Derek immediately fall for her and decide to adopt her. Meredith's tampering with her husband's clinical trial does create a rift between them and raise doubts for their social worker, but they eventually make up and get baby Zola back. Cue the happy tears!

Henry (Scott Foley) makes his debut in season seven, but he pulls the real emotional punches in season eight. Teddy proposes to marry Henry at first so that he can be on her insurance to have surgery, but they both eventually catch feelings. They become a real couple in season eight, but Henry soon dies on the table while Cristina unknowingly operates on him, creating tension between Teddy, Cristina, and Owen.

Just before Bailey's wedding, Adele (Loretta Devine), who had been afflicted with Alzheimer's, ends up in the E.R. So, Richard, Bailey, and Meredith figure out how to fix her aneurysm. Her surgery goes well, but she dies soon after because of a heart attack. During Bailey's wedding, Richard imagines himself dancing with his wife right after her death. Be right back, we're sobbing.

Alex's father, Jimmy Evans (James Remar), checks into the hospital after getting in a car crash with his buddies. Alex and his dad don't have the greatest relationship, since he was abusive to Alex and his mother. When Jimmy checks into the hospital again to get clean from heroin, he collapses then goes in surgery with Shane the resident. Alex isn't able to mend his relationship with his father, who hallucinates about his new family when he wakes up, only to eventually die. It's a pretty rough storyline that makes you hurt for Alex.

In season 11, Arizona becomes the student of fetal surgeon Nicole Herman (Geena Davis). When Dr. Herman reveals to Arizona that she has an inoperable tumor and six months left to live, she more or less exports all of her knowledge to the peds surgeon. Amelia, of course, finds a way to operate on her brain. Though the surgery renders her blind, she lives on and eventually recruits Arizona years later for a clinic idea.

In season 12, Meredith gets attacked by Lou (Dohn Norwood), a patient who was in a fugue state. Though the attack renders her unable to talk or walk for a while, she forgives him since he wasn't aware of what he was doing. It's a pretty touching moment as we consider it in juxtaposition with all the love and support surrounding her even post-Derek. About a quarter of the episode is in silence, as Meredith loses her hearing temporarily. It's one of Grey's Anatomy most powerful episodes, that's for sure.

The arc with Maggie's mother had everyone in shambles of course. After her divorce, Diane (LaTanya Richardson Jackson) learns from Jackson that she has breast cancer. When Maggie finally learns about the diagnosis, she finds every possible treatment for her mother, who eventually passes away on her own terms. Diane's story really gives us a look into Maggie's life and history outside of her sister drama with the Grey's and it's both sweet and heartbreaking.

Near the end of season 14, Meredith cares for super dreamy transplant surgeon Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman). They talk about their careers, children, life, and everything in between. You really get the sense that it's the first time that Meredith has so effortlessly connected with someone since Derek. We're still holding out a candle for him, even if he's probably back working at the Mayo Clinic far, far away. True love doesn't die!

Season 15 kicks off with a patient named Cece Colvin (Caroline Clay) who loses consciousness while driving and crashes. Though she eventually survives, she feels as though she doesn't deserve a new heart because the accident killed someone. But Cece decides to fight after Meredith asks her to be her love doctor. Anyway, we like her because she's priming our beloved chief of general surgery for true love, no big deal.