Teddy Altman

Theodora 'Teddy' Altman is an old friend of Owen Hunt from the military and former Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. In the season eight finale, Owen fires Teddy from Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

Military Service
Teddy joined the army as a surgeon following 9/11 and the death of her best friend. In the army, Teddy worked closely with Owen Hunt. They soon became best friends.

Arrival at the Hospital
Owen Hunt convinced Teddy to come work in Seattle, saying it was a great hospital with a great staff and equipment. At first, Teddy was surprised by all the equipment, compared to the equipment she had back in Iraq. She was also very pleased with the fact that it rained a lot in Seattle, as it almost never rains in the desert, where she previously worked.

Soon after her arrival, she met Cristina Yang, whom she called one of the best residents she had ever seen. It didn't take her long to find out that Owen brought her to Seattle to please his girlfriend, who hadn't have a cardiogod since Erica Hahn left the hospital. However, Teddy wasn't mad about it and said she would just enjoy the things Owen would do to make it up to her. Cristina didn't believe in Teddy's skills, as she wasn't able to insert a pacing wire.

Confessing her Feelings towards Owen
While in Iraq, Teddy and Owen were best friends. They both shared mutual affection for each other, however Owen was still with his fiancée, Beth. Once arriving at Seattle Grace, Teddy confessed to Owen that she loves him, but she understands and knows he is with Cristina now. Teddy never knew how Owen felt about her and Owen never knew about Teddy's feelings. In the wake of confessing her feelings, Teddy and Owen's friendship became strained.

Marriage to Henry
Henry was a patient with the rare genetic condition Von Hippel-Lindau disease, who could no longer afford to pay for his medical care. Teddy married him so that he could use her health insurance, and only came to appreciate the gravity of this decision when Henry suffered a near fatal complication of his illness. Teddy discovered that he had listed her as his emergency contact and she was forced to make a life-or-death decision regarding his care, not as his doctor but as his wife. Though the newlyweds both maintained that theirs was a simple marriage of convenience, and Teddy continued to date other men, Henry later confessed that he had feelings for Teddy. She told him she did not feel the same way. When Andrew Perkins returned and asked Teddy to move to Germany with him, she accepted, and agreed to divorce Henry. However, in the aftermath of a plane crash shortly after making that decision, Teddy changed her mind and told Henry that she was falling in love with him. The two began their married life properly, but not long into their wedded bliss, Henry died, leaving Teddy distraught.

Grieving Henry's Death
After Henry died, Teddy was not aware until after she finished her surgery on her patient. Cristina was the one to tell her in the scrub room and she broke down crying. She sat and cried next to Henry in the OR where he died. In her grieving process, she called Cristina in during her surgeries and made her tell her the exact story of Henry's surgery. This went on for about two weeks. She later went to a support group for widows to help her cope with his death, only to laugh at one of the other widows for saying her husband had "minor congestive heart failure" because according to Teddy, there is no such thing and he was lucky to survive as long as he did. Finally, she was able to say the words "I am a widow." Later, she talks more about Henry's death, telling Owen during surgery that she does not want to leave Seattle Grace because the south elevator was the place she met Henry, the cafeteria will always be the place he bought her lunch, and the OR they were in will always be the one Henry died in.

Departure from the Hospital
Teddy turned down an offer from Medcom to stay at Seattle Grace. She told Owen it was because of Henry and all that she had been through at the hospital. Despite this, he dissaproved of her decision and later figured out that she was only staying because Cristina was leaving and she wanted to be there for Owen. He later pulled her into the confrence room and fired her, effective immediately. He told her she should have seen it coming because she was "hostile and insubordinate for months."

Mark Sloan
Dr. Sloan asked Teddy out in the episode Push, but she declined. Eventually, she accepts and they have sex in the end of the episode Suicide is Painless. In the following episode, Sympathy for the Parents, Teddy and Mark have moved on.

Henry Burton
Henry was a patient who had Von Hippel-Lindau disease (making tumors grow on rich blood supply areas) and could no long afford insurance. Teddy met Henry in an elevator in the hospital, where Henry asked her if he would have chance when he asked his girlfriend to marry him. Teddy told him his girlfriend would be a fool to say no. She later bumped into him again, and he informed her his girlfriend said no. He then revealed that he primarely asked her because of her insurance. Teddy then offered to marry him, as she had a great insurance as a surgeon.

After their marriage, Henry enlists Teddy as his emergency contact person, because he didn't have any friends or family left. Henry developed real feelings for Teddy, but he decided not to tell her. She started dating, and they discussed her dates over the food she always brought home for him. However, when Teddy started a relationship with Andrew Perkins for the second time, Henry couldn't keep his feeling still anymore. He told her how he felt, which made her doubt about her relationship with Andrew. Right before she would leave for Germany with Perkins, she choose Henry over Andrew and kissed Henry.

In the episode Heart Shaped Box, Henry tells Teddy that he wants to go to medical school, but Teddy doesn't want him to go. At the end of the episode, Teddy tries to make up with Henry, and finds him coughing up blood. Henry has a tumor on his lung and needs surgery. When Cristina and Richard open him up, they find that there is no chance of saving Henry and he starts to code. Webber steps in to do CPR, but after 20 minutes, it's a lost cause so he stops, and Henry dies. Webber tells Owen not to tell Teddy as she is in surgery, and then they would lose another patient, so Owen tells Teddy that Henry survived. Finally, after the surgery, Cristina tells her that her husband is dead. Teddy demanded to see him and then broke down in tears.

Andrew Perkins
Andrew and Teddy began a relationship after the shooting at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Andrew was the main trauma counselor who had to approve and clear each surgeon for surgery. Teddy and Andrew met in the cafeteria and dated for a few weeks before he had to move onto his next case. Teddy was very upset by this, but eventually moved on. Eventually, Andrew returned to Seattle, but in the meantime, Teddy had married Henry. Andrew was offered a permanent position in Germany and asked Teddy to go with him. She initially accepted and they were all set to go. However, she has second thoughts about her relationship with Henry and chose to stay.

Owen Hunt
Owen and Teddy met while they both were army surgeons. Owen brings her to Seattle Grace-Mercy West as a present for Cristina, claiming her to be a "cardio goddess", and Teddy later works out that Owen brought her as a present for his girlfriend, appearing more surprised by the fact Cristina was his girlfriend. She later would admit that she believed that if Owen broke up with his fiancée, Beth, he would have called her.

Cristina Yang
Initially excited at the prospect of a new cardio attending, Cristina is disappointed when she learns that Teddy has not inserted a pacing wire for about 10 years and begins to constantly question her skills as a surgeon. However she becomes very impressed by Dr. Altman soon after diagnosing a child with cardiac asthma after only a brief exam and asking three questions, and when she opens him up and discovers he has a coronary artery to pulmonary artery fistula, which she repairs surgically and allows Cristina to first assist, allowing her to attach the coronary artery to the aorta. Following his removal from bypass, the patient goes into V-Fib and starts bleeding from the repair site. Dr. Altman remains extremely calm and talks Cristina through resolving the rhythm and repairing the site without rearresting the heart.

Career
Dr. Altman attended University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, completing her surgical residency at George Washington University Medical Center and her fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Working previously at Columbia (presumably Columbia University Medical Center) as an attending surgeon, Dr. Altman left her job following the death of her best friend, who was killed during the collapse of the second tower. Upon leaving her job, Dr. Altman joined the army and met Owen Hunt during her tour in Baghdad.

When her tour of duty was over, Owen recommended her as the new interim chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Then-Chief Webber initially offered her at temporary contract, but became part of the permanent staff when Dr. Shepherd, as the new chief of surgery, extended her offer with a new contract.

As chief cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Altman mentored Cristina Yang for the last three years of Yang's residency and began research on her stem cell regenerative heart medicine project. It was this research that drew the US Army Medical Command's attention toward Dr. Altman, eventually offering her the position as their chief of staff.

After Chief Hunt fires her, she leaves the hospital and accepts the position at MEDCOM.

Notes and Trivia

 * Teddy has birds on her scrub cap. Owen revealed that Teddy's best friend loved birds and died during the collapse of the second world trade tower.
 * Teddy had plans to leave the hospital every season she appeared in, finally leaving at the end of season 8.
 * In season 6, she almost left because she couldn't handle that Owen wasn't in love with her.
 * In season 7, she was planning on moving to Germany with Andrew Perkins, but stayed because Henry told her he was in love with her and she was starting to fall in love with him too.
 * In the season 8 finale, she was offered a job in the army, but refused to take it because she wanted to stay in Seattle to support Owen, as he was having a hard time. However, Owen didn't want her to miss the opportunity just because of him, and forced himself to fire her. After she was fired, Teddy was angry at first but relieved later, and she took the job, leaving Seattle Grace Mercy West.
 * Though she was part of the main cast from season 6 to season 8, season 7 is the only season in which she appears in every single episode. She first appeared in mid-season 6 and was only mentioned in the season 8 alternate reality episode If/Then.
 * After her departure, Teddy was never mentioned again in season 9.
 * Teddy is the only surgeon who hasn't seen Gary Clark when he wandered around in the hospital shooting staff members.
 * Teddy was unable to complete an appendectomy without Nurse Linda reminding her of the remaining steps of the procedure.
 * Teddy loves dogs (especially puppies).
 * She hates the word moist. She really prefer that people say damp.
 * Because of Teddy's F.A.C.S. designation, she is board certified in cardiothoracic surgery, despite not being stated, as of yet, in dialogue.
 * Teddy is most likely board certified in general surgery, as it is a requirement to be board certified in cardiothoracic surgery.
 * Because of this requirement, Teddy is not considered "double-board certified".
 * Teddy decided to go to medical school when she was 19.
 * Although incorrect, Teddy's SGMW ID badge states her department is cardiology.