Grey’s Anatomy honored the lives of victims and those affected by the coronavirus on Thursday’s episode.
After Chandra Wilson’s character Miranda Bailey lost her mother to the deadly virus, Bailey recited a list of patients who had also died from COVID-19.
Once the eye-opening scene was over, viewers of the medical drama watched while hundreds of names were listed on the screen.
Tough: Grey’s Anatomy honored the lives of victims and those affected by the coronavirus on Thursday’s episode
Bailey’s mother suffered from Alzheimer’s and was admitted to the hospital as her body began breaking down due to complications from COVID.
The staff at Seattle Grace Hospital have been inundated with COVID-19 patients, a similar scene to what medical workers around the world are dealing with as cases of the virus continue to rise.
‘She’s decompensating, she barely knows who I am and I want to be there for her,’ Bailey told Richard Webber. ‘I want her husband to be there for her. She deserves to be surrounded by love and family. But dad’s in quarantine. He’s high risk. I don’t want him to expose anyone and I don’t want him to be exposed.’
‘I know this is not what you imagined for your mother and I’m sorry about that,’ Webber said. ‘She needs you now. It’s time. If you don’t go in, I promise you will never forgive yourself.’
‘I know this is not what you imagined for your mother and I’m sorry about that,’ Webber said. ‘She needs you now. It’s time. If you don’t go in, I promise you will never forgive yourself’
‘Even in their deaths, they are not faceless. They are not nameless. They are more than statistics, more than co-morbid conditions or nursing home patients,’ she said
‘Patients lose their power when they’re referred to as ‘Bed No. 4,’ or ‘Arm pain guy,” Bailey said in the powerful voiceover at the end of the episode. ‘Even in their deaths, they are not faceless. They are not nameless. They are more than statistics, more than co-morbid conditions or nursing home patients.
‘They are sons, brothers and uncles who speak five languages and run restaurants: Wade Klein, 66. They are great grandfathers who love Broadway: Jacob Lappin, 92. They are baseball-loving nurses with an easy laugh: Dane Wilson, 45. They are the world’s greatest mothers and they are the most beloved wives: Elena Rose Bailey, 84.’
Zoanne Clark, the writer of Thursday’s episode, revealed the inspiration behind the final voiceover was ‘multifactorial.’
Brutal: The staff at Seattle Grace Hospital have been inundated with COVID-19 patients, a similar scene to what medical workers around the world are dealing with as cases of the virus continue to rise
On the mend: Ellen Pompeo’s character, Meredith Grey, endured a battle with COVID-19 on season 17
‘When my mom contracted and almost died of COVID, I was so mad that she might go down in history as one of the nameless, faceless ramifications of this disease,’ she said. ‘I was seeing how it was disproportionately affecting Black Americans, older Americans, and people who lived in assisted living. My mom was all of those.
‘But she was also a teacher who has influenced many successful lives and she has an infectious laugh. That was the story I wanted people to remember, not that she was a victim of a pandemic.’
On one of Clark’s medical websites called Medscape, she created an online memorial to honor those who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus: In Memoriam, Health Care Workers Who Have Died of Covid-19.’
‘People from all over the world can submit names of colleagues, friends, and family members,’ she said. ‘As of July 1, the list included more than 1800 names from 64 countries ranging in age from 20 to 99. The last update was Dec. 3 so no telling how many names are on it now.’
‘Patients lose their power when they’re referred to as ‘Bed No. 4,’ or ‘Arm pain guy,” Bailey said in the powerful voiceover at the end of the episode. ‘Even in their deaths, they are not faceless. They are not nameless. They are more than statistics, more than co-morbid conditions or nursing home patients.