Henry Burton

Henry Burton was a frequent patient at the hospital and Teddy Altman's husband. He suffered from a condition called Von Hippel-Lindau, that made tumors grow inside the body which he ultimately succumbed to.

Meeting Teddy
He first came to the hospital as a patient without insurance and in need of surgery. Teddy, unable to watch as he died, appealed to the hospital. They decided to give him a medic alert bracelet and they'd treat him when he came in with an emergent condition. They sent him away with alpha blockers and got him set up in the clinic. However, as he was getting ready to leave, Teddy proposed that he marry her so he could be on her insurance. He rejected her, but she said that as a doctor, she couldn't leave him to die any more than if he were bleeding in the street. He told her it was a mistake and she'd regret it in the morning, but she said he didn't have to die because she could help. ("Adrift and at Peace")

They got married and he was able to get on her insurance so he could have his surgery. ("Disarm")

Henry then was re-admitted to the hospital to have his surgery. Because the tumor had invaded his kidney, they'd need to remove it in surgery. In surgery, they found necrotic cyst on his pancreas, meaning he'd need to have a large portion of his pancreas removed. They went to Teddy as his emergency contact to ask her if she thought he could live with being diabetic. She was unable to answer that as she didn't know him very well, but she gave Chief Webber consent to do as he saw fit. Chief Webber wound up removing Henry's pancreas. ("Start Me Up")

Meeting William
Despite being married to Henry, because they weren't romantically involved, Teddy continued to date. While Henry was in the hospital to get tests, he met her date for the evening William. The two of them chatted in the waiting room while William waited for Teddy to finish her work. At the end of the night, Henry warned Teddy that William was not the kind of guy she would want to go on a date with, but she went anyway. ("Golden Hour")

Heart Mass
Henry was out jogging one day when he collapsed and had to be taken to the ER. They stabilized him in the ER and ran some tests to figure out why he had collapsed. When his pain medication started to kick in, Henry confessed his love for her and said they should be together for real. When scans revealed a mass near his heart, Richard refused to let Teddy operate and she was forced to let Cristina operate instead. After his surgery, he said that he hadn't just said what he said because of the painkillers. She said it was a good story, but that's all it was and she didn't want to be with him. ("This is How We Do It")

Bonding with Teddy
Henry called Teddy one night when he was having a hypoglycemic episode. She left her date to bring him a canoli to bring his sugar back up and they bonded over her date being terrible. She continued to come over after several more terrible dates. One night, Henry lit some candles to set a romantic mood, but when Teddy arrived, she said she was just there to drop off pasta for him as her date was still going on. ("It's a Long Way Back")

Diabetes Trial
Teddy's on and off boyfriend Andrew Perkins returned and asked her to go with him to Germany and work at a hospital there. Teddy talked to Henry about it, saying there were a lot of factors into her decision, one of which was him. He realized that she still saw him as a patient, so he went to Webber after hearing that he was starting a trial on diabetes and asked to be added to the trial, so he could get his own job and his own insurance. Webber was initially reluctant because of his relationship with Teddy, but after finding out that he was competing with Andrew for her affection, he agreed to evaluate him and make him first in line.

Teddy told Henry that she decided to go to Germany with Andrew, which prompted him to ask for a divorce from Teddy. She agreed and implies Henry didn't need her any longer because he had his old job back and his own insurance. ("I Will Survive")

Teddy came to say goodbye while Henry was in the hospital to have surgery to have his islet cell device inserted. However, when a plane crashed that day, she came back and said they were delaying their departure to help out. She told Henry what to say so he'd be admitted and be first in the queue to have his surgery when they started operating again. ("Unaccompanied Minor")

Henry got a call that his surgery to implant his islet cell device was being moved up, so he came into the hospital for the surgery. They rushed his pre-op labs and prepared him for surgery. His device was placed successfully and he wasn't in pain in recovery.

Henry came in for a follow up after the trial work had been transferred to Bailey. ("Love, Loss and Legacy")

When Bailey was doing the second round of devices, she worked out a few kinks the first set had. Because Henry was part of the first round, she said they needed to do daily checks of his blood sugar because there was a risk he could become diabetic again. Despite this, he was optimistic that they'd figure it out and that's why it's called a trial. ("Put Me In, Coach")

Dinner Party
When Teddy and Henry moved into a new place, they decided to throw a dinner party, to which they invited Callie and Arizona, Bailey and Eli, and Owen and Cristina. Cristina and Eli ended up not attending. ("Love, Loss and Legacy")

Softball Game
When Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital went up against Seattle Presbyterian Hospital in a softball game, Teddy begged Owen to let her pitch, trying to get Henry, a former pro baseball player, to back her up. Owen, hearing that he had been a pro ball player, hired Henry temporarily as an administrative assistant so that he could play on their team. He helped Owen decide where to put the players.

However, during the game, Henry noticed that all the doctors were pretty terrible at softball. After the game, he thanked them for bringing him on to play, even if he didn't actually help them much. ("Put Me In, Coach")

Shadowing Teddy
Henry came to the hospital to watch Teddy operate. He observed several surgeries and had a good time. At the end of the day, he confessed to Teddy that he wanted to go to medical school. She was not receptive to that idea. However, when she went home to make up with him, she found him coughing up blood. ("Heart-Shaped Box")

Death
Teddy took Henry to the ER. He had a CT, which revealed a tumor near his heart, causing bleeding in his lungs and trachea. Richard was planning to operate by opening his chest, but Teddy wanted it done with a bronchoscope. She wanted Cristina to do it. Cristina wasn't informed of the patient's identity (she was told he was a "35-year-old male") until after the surgery. ("Dark Was the Night")

Cristina explained to Teddy how initially she planned to remove the tumor using a broncoscope and a laser, but as there was too much bleeding she had to open him up. When she opened him up, she saw that his tumor had eroded the pulmonary artery and there was too much damage. Dr. Webber and herself used extraordinary measures, but his heart could not tolerate the excessive bleeding. He did not survive the surgery. ("Suddenly")

Teddy Altman
Henry met Teddy in an elevator at the hospital and asked her how he looked, as he was going to propose to his girlfriend. She told him his girlfriend would be a fool to say no. She did say no, which Henry told Teddy about when they ran into each other again. She took interest in his case and learned he wanted to marry his girlfriend in order to get insurance, as his own maxed out. Teddy then suggested she marry him, as she had a great insurance. ("Adrift and at Peace")

They got married by a justice of the peace with Owen Hunt as the witness. After a long day at work, Teddy met him at Emerald City Bar. They toasted their marriage and she gave him the paperwork to get him insured. ("Disarm")

As his emergency contact and next of kin, Teddy was called in to make a decision during his surgery. She later said it made her uncomfortable to make those kinds of decisions for him, but he told her he didn't have anyone else. ("Start Me Up")

When Henry collapsed while jogging, Teddy was visibly worried about him. While he was on painkillers, he confessed that he wanted to be with her for real. When tests revealed a mass near his heart, she wanted to operate but because they were married, she wasn't allowed to and had to step aside while Cristina did his surgery. After his surgery, he maintained that he meant what he said, but she said she didn't feel the same way. ("This is How We Do It")

They continued to hang out, but strictly as friends. When Henry heard that Richard was doing a trial for diabetic patients, he went to plead his case to be a participant, saying Teddy still saw him as a patient and he wanted to be able to get a job and get his own insurance so she wouldn't see him like that anymore. However, after he learned that Teddy was going to move to Germany, he asked her for a divorce. ("I Will Survive")

After a day of dealing with telling multiple families that their loved ones had died in the plane crash, Teddy came into Henry's room and made him stand up so she could kiss him and tell him she was falling in love with him. ("Unaccompanied Minor")

When Henry's islet cell surgery was moved up, Teddy worried about it and wondered if there was some reason the surgery was happening sooner. She continued to pester Webber about it until she was informed that she was acting like a wife. After his surgery, Teddy admitted what she'd done and said she'd be a mess every time Henry had to have surgery. ("She's Gone")

When he later died during a tumor resection, she was devastated and forced Cristina to follow her into surgeries and explain in detail what had gone wrong. ("This Magic Moment")

Girlfriend
When he first met Teddy, Henry had a cater waiter girlfriend. He asked her to marry him for her insurance, but she declined. Henry understood her, because his primary reason to ask her was her insurance, although he stated that he genuinely liked her. ("Adrift and at Peace")

Familial
Henry lost his parents four and five years before meeting Teddy. He has one sister who lives in Prague, which he said was a long story. He says when they talk, he errs on the side of asking about her kids because she's broke and his health condition is exhausting. ("Start Me Up")

Friendships
Because of his condition, which always made him the new guy who was always sick, it was difficult for Henry to make any friends at all. He had one best friend, but his friend's wife made it pretty clear how annoying Henry was because of his illness, so Henry stopped seeing his best friend. ("Start Me Up")

Career
He was once a professional baseball player. ("Golden Hour")

After his baseball career ended, he held several different jobs as he had to change jobs often as he reached his health insurance maximums quickly due to his tumor condition. Once of the jobs he held was as a shipping clerk. ("Put Me In, Coach")

He was briefly hired as an administrative assistant at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in order to make him eligible to play for their softball team in a game against Seattle Presbyterian Hospital. ("Put Me In, Coach")

Notes and Trivia

 * He said that he was 42 years old  ("Start Me Up"), but when Cristina had to operate on him, she was told he was a "35-year old male". ("Dark Was the Night")
 * He was pronounced dead at 8:52 PM. ("Dark Was the Night")
 * Richard tried to save him for twenty minutes before Cristina called it. ("Dark Was the Night")

Appearances
Henry Burton Henry Burton