Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: ABC

Greys Anatomy has seen many shake-ups over its 19 seasons but none as big as the one thats due on February 23, when star Ellen Pompeo will make (whats being billed as) her final appearance as Meredith Grey. The actors exit isnt exactly a surprise: Pompeo has hinted for years that she was considering opting out, and Greys spent the first half of this season laying the groundwork for her departure (the ongoing romance with Nick, Zolas worsening anxiety, the apparent appeal of Bostons slightly less rainy weather, etc.). Still, for fans who have stuck around for every bit of Merediths winding, tragedy-filled journey from rosy-cheeked intern to the seasoned doctor of today, its a gut punch of a loss.

And oh, those tragedies! No character on network TV has endured as much trauma, disaster, and plain bad luck as Meredith Grey. In her 40-odd years, this woman has undergone everything from plane crashes to bomb threats and custody battles to a burst appendix. Thats not even mentioning the most recent affront Greys has wrought upon her: the fire that engulfs her beloved Seattle home just as shes about to leave town. (This isnt a show known for its subtlety, okay?)

In honor of Merediths upcoming exit, weve ranked all of the many, many tragedies that have befallen her over the course of Greys, from the fairly mundane to the truly jaw-dropping. Because while the show may not always be kind to its titular heroine, it has always known how to keep viewers hooked for more.

Lets start with one that was kind of Merediths fault. Back in Season 15, she casually commits some insurance fraud in order to help a dad and daughter who are seeking asylum. As punishment, she is sentenced to community service, but when she skips out on that one too many times, shes sentenced to jail where she spends a grand total of a few days, or so it seemed by the speed in which Greys ended that story line. Although one may assume that having to leave her kids and go to jail (even for a short period) would be traumatizing for Meredith, she doesnt seem to mind the situation so much, making a friend during her stay and coming out none the worse.

In the grand scheme of Bad Things That Have Happened to Meredith Grey, a burst appendix and the resulting emergency surgery are barely contenders. Still, theyre just one more crappy, painful thing for our protagonist to have endured even if they do lead to her choosing Derek over hot vet Finn.

Another hardship mostly of Merediths own making, this one is especially silly because it gets worked out so quickly. In the midst of trying to adopt Zola with Derek, Meredith is fired from the hospital (not for the last time!) because she tampered with the Alzheimers trial. Naturally, when Zolas social worker finds out Meredith was fired and lied about living with Derek, she takes the baby away. Soon enough, though, Zola is returned to their custody, and Meredith and Derek try to move forward as one big happy family.

Meredith has faced a lot of death in her lifetime, so while the sudden demise of ones stepmother (of hiccups, of all things!) would be horrible for most people, it is simply a sad, if fairly run-of-the-mill, experience for her. What probably hurts worse for Meredith than the poor womans actual death is when her shell-shocked dad slaps her in front of Derek and blames her for what happened. Yeesh.

No, Cristina didnt die, and yes, theyre still in touch (even if we see only Merediths side of the FaceTime calls because Sandra Oh is too busy wracking up Emmy noms or whatever). Even so, the physical loss of Merediths person was devastating, both to the character and to fans who had grown protective over the bond between Seattles darkest and twistiest sisters.

Look, Thatcher wasnt exactly the worlds best dad. He drank too much, was emotionally abusive, and dipped out of Merediths life for a good 20 years to be with his other family. He even had the nerve to use her as a liver donor when he needed a transplant! But he was family, of which Meredith has little, and his death was upsetting simply because he and Meredith deserved more time to rebuild their relationship.

Let me be clear: Andrew DeLucas murder isnt low on this list because it isnt tragic. Its low because, despite Meredith having a long-term relationship with this man, she gets over his death real fast. Sure, shes sad for a bit, but barely an episode later she is plotting her course as residency director and tackling a cure for Parkinsons! Guess those feelings werent that deep.

Now were getting to the real trauma. Long before Greys viewers met Meredith, she had survived multiple hardships on her own, including watching her mother slit her wrists in front of her when she was a kid. The sad thing is, this wasnt even the worst thing Ellis did to Meredith over the years more on that in a bit.

In the mid-season-19 finale last November, Meredith comes home to discover that her house has been struck by lightning and is on fire. We have yet to see the results, but from the looks of it, things aint good. Sure, Meredith can easily afford a new place, but the loss of the house is a real bummer. After all, it was Elliss house originally, and over the course of the show, it has played home to an endless array of friends, lovers, pets, and strays, Merediths affectionate name for outsiders in need of a short-term reprieve. Cristina and Owens wedding happened there! April and Jacksons baby was born there! R.I.P., house. We will miss you.

And you thought your childbirth story was rough: After falling down the stairs in the midst of a superstorm (because of course), Meredith goes into labor early and requires a C-section only to have the hospital lights totally go out. The procedure goes well enough until Meredith realizes shes internally bleeding and needs a second emergency surgery, but thankfully, both Mom and baby end up totally okay. She even names the baby after Bailey, who operated on her! Very dark yet sweet classic Greys.

And the worlds worst parent award goes to Ellis Grey! Truly, this horrible woman is responsible for like 75 percent of the emotional trauma Meredith has experienced. After scarring her daughter for life with that suicide attempt, Ellis continues her reign of terror by pushing her to extremes, bashing her intelligence and skills, and never, ever being pleased with a single thing Meredith does. Still, Mer had majorly complicated feelings about her mom, and when Ellis eventually dies owing to a medical complication, its devastating for Meredith, even if her passing is, on some level, a relief.

Oh, the bomb threat. One of Greys most iconic episodes, the two-part, postSuper Bowl season-two event sees a clearly death-courting Meredith put her hand inside a patient with a live, unexploded bomb in his body. But that isnt even the worst of it! When the bomb squad finally gets Meredith out safely, the device explodes, killing Kyle Chandler right in front of her eyes. Truly, no one should have to see that.

Few Greys Anatomy deaths have hit as hard as Georges, and surprise, surprise, Meredith takes the brunt of the onscreen pain. Shes the one who discovers that the severely burned patient trying to write in her palm is 007, a.k.a. George, and watching her come to that heartbreaking realization especially knowing how injured he is and how little chance he has to survive was truly rough to watch.Even for the permanently grief-stricken doctor, losing one of her best friends takes a deep emotional toll.

Considering how often Greys pulls stories from the headlines, it made sense that the show would feature at least one character dealing with a serious case of COVID-19. But did it have to be Meredith, who suffered so much already?! Girl not only contracts the disease but gets a case so bad that she ends up on a freakin ventilator for months and nearly dies. The only good part is that she at least isnt in pain during the worst of it, just frolicking around on the beach with all her dead friends and husband.

This one just felt so unnecessary. A patient suffering from post-seizure hyperaggression attacks Meredith as she tries to help him, throwing her across the room and hurting her so badly that her jaw gets displaced. It takes weeks for her to fully recover, and thats only from the physical injuries who knew how deep the fear and anger went?

In one of Greys first major traumas, Meredith nearly drowns after a patient pushes her into the water during a ferryboat accident. Derek is able to rescue her, but she suffered severe hypothermia and almost dies. If that werent serious enough, it turns out she basically let herself drown because she didnt know if she wanted to continue living. A double whammy of a tragedy, though it did make for highly captivating TV.

Just another normal day on Greys Anatomy, folks. During season sixs iconic shooter-in-the-hospital finale, Derek gets shot. In an attempt to stop the gunman from finishing the job by fooling him into thinking theyve stopped operating on Derek, Cristina and Jackson make it look as if Derek has died. Alas, Meredith is fooled too and is so shocked and heartbroken that she has a miscarriage. Even more horrifying? She cant take any time to mourn or heal, as she has to operate on an also-injured Owen to keep him alive.

As much as Greys fans enjoy making fun of the shows plane-crash episodes for their utter ridiculousness (see those forever-funny Cristina I lost a shoe! memes), they are actually extremely dire. Lest you forget, Meredith and five of her fellow docs are stranded in the woods after their plane nosedives, many of them seriously injured and with no help in sight. One of those badly hurt is Mers sister, Lexie, who is crushed under plane parts and eventually succumbs to her wounds. Although Meredith herself walks away with just minor injuries, the combination of experiencing the terrifying crash and losing her sister one of her only remaining relatives is nearly too much for her to bear. Even after the doctors are rescued, the emotional toll of the crash and Lexies death weigh heavily on all of them, and not until weeks later does Meredith seem to fully process the horrific extent of what happened.

As much tragedy and disaster as Meredith experiences over her lifetime, nothing takes as big a toll as the untimely death of her beloved husband, Derek especially considering how frustratingly preventable his death was, with that damn Penny refusing to order a head CT even though he seemed to be suffering neurological damage after a gnarly run-in with a car. Because of this terrible mistake, Derek passes, widowing Meredith and leaving their three kids without a father. In the years afterward, Meredith deals with her grief and rebuilds her life (and eventually finds love again), but even today, Dereks loss still hangs over it all.

Will a move to Boston and life with Nick help heal the wound? Fingers crossed, but we may never know unless Pompeo finds her way back to Greys down the line for a cameo or a much-buzzed guest appearance. But if we know Meredith, any return to the show will just mean well have to update this list with yet another tragedy that befalls the worlds unluckiest doctor.

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