Karen Marks

Karen Marks is the wife of Dalton Marks, who came to the hospital with breath that Karen described as nasty. After surgery, her husband suffered a massive stroke, leaving him unable to move or talk.

Dalton's Diagnosis
Karen came to the hospital with her husband Dalton when he started suffering from having a nasty breath. Stephanie and Jackson ran some tests and took scans, revealing that the muscles in esophagus were working against each other instead of working together. The esophagus wall formed a sack, where Dalton's food was being kept, and that caused his bad breath. Jackson explained a minimally invasive surgical procedure to solve the problem. He explained the risks of the procedure, a small one being damage to the vocal chord nerves, meaning he wouldn't be able to speak anymore.

Hearing Dalton's Confessions
After hearing this, Dalton blurted out that his wife had a very cute butt. This made Karen feel a little uncomfortable, but he didn't want anything to be left unsaid in case he'll end up unable to speak ever again after surgery. Another confession he made was not ever having really liked her brother, after which Karen jokingly asked how soon the surgeons could put him under. On their way to the OR, her husband made more confessions. Her purple dress did make her look fat, and he confessed he lied when he said it was pretty. He wanted his last words to be honest. He then started singing "It Had to Be You", which is their song. Karen jokingly asked Jackson to cut the vocal chords when they arrived at the doors Karen wasn't allowed to pass. Dalton then whispered something romantic in her ear, after which Karen then kissed him and he was taken to the OR.

Dalton Having a Stroke
After the surgery, Jackson informed Karen that everything went fine, even though they had to go in surgically. Dalton would have a fresh breath again from now on. Stephanie noticed how Dalton was waking up, and his wife greeted him. Suddenly, Dalton had a stroke, and while Jackson examined Dalton's pupils, Stephanie paged Derek Shepherd.

Derek later explained to Karen that Dalton had had a massive stroke that dislodged a blood cloth in the carotid artery during surgery. The post-operative stroke is a rare outcome for any surgery, and he assured her they'd persue any avenue to rehabilitation even though he was afraid they wouldn't be able to fix it. Jackson answered Karen's questions, telling her that Dalton is awake even though he can't speak or move. Jackson assured her they'd do anything they can and apologized. Karen asked if he could hear her, which Jackson told her wasn't certain, and she then lovingly started singing their song, just like he did before the surgery. ("Get Up, Stand Up")

Dalton Marks
Karen has been married to Dalton for quite some time. During their marriage, he lied about a couple of things to make her feel good, like pretending to like her brother and insisting that she did look pretty in the purple dress with stripes. The couple has a favorite song titled "It Had to Be You", which they sometimes sing to each other to show their love.

Notes and Trivia

 * It's unknown which version of "It Had to Be You" exactly is her and Dalton's song, as many singers have sung the song.