All I Could Do Was Cry

"There's a thing we say when someone dies. We say it to the patients's family. We say, 'I'm sorry for your loss.' It's a pat little phrase and an empty one. It doesn't begin to cover what's actually happening to them. It lets us empathize without forcing us to feel their devastation ourselves. It protects us from feeling that pain, that dark, sinking, relentless pain. The kind that can eat you alive. And every day, I thank God for that. We can't get too close. If we felt even little of the joy and the hopes that our patients are saying goodbye to, we'd never be able to function. So we say, 'We're sorry for your loss.' and we hope it offers something. Some little bit of support. Some bit of peace. Some bit of closure. Something good. Some little piece of beauty in the midst of some place dark. An unexpected gift just when it's needed most."

- April Kepner

 is the eleventh episode of the eleventh season and the 231st overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
After several discussions with Dr. Herman, April and Jackson must face their situation head on and make a difficult decision regarding their unborn child. Catherine arrives in Seattle and bumps into Richard at the hospital. Meanwhile, Meredith tries to find someone to take care of the kids so she can visit Derek for the weekend, and Amelia shows Stephanie some tough love when they work together on a case.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins
 * Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner
 * Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
 * Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
 * Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson
 * Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards
 * Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd (credit only)

Guest Stars

 * Debbie Allen as Dr. Catherine Avery
 * Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
 * Rob Nagle as Howard Bonaman
 * Kim Hidalgo as Wendy
 * Deidra Edwards as Brenda Bonaman
 * Geena Davis as Dr. Nicole Herman

Co-Starring

 * Jeremy Glazer as Drew Hawkins
 * Gregory Michael Smith as Paramedic
 * Oscar Best as Pastor Rhinehold

April Kepner

 * Diagnosis:
 * Pregnancy


 * Doctors:
 * Nicole Herman (fetal surgeon)


 * Treatment:
 * Induction termination

After finding out that their baby had type II OI, April and Jackson decided to allow Nicole to induce labor. She labored and delivered Samuel Norbert Avery, whom they held until he died.

Samuel Norbert Avery

 * Diagnosis:
 * Type II osteogenesis imperfecta


 * Doctors:
 * Nicole Herman (fetal surgeon)


 * Treatment:

Samuel was diagnosed in utero with type II osteogenesis imperfecta. April and Jackson decided to induce labor at 24 weeks and allow him to be born. Once he was born, they held him until he died.

Michael

 * Diagnosis:
 * Car accident injuries


 * Doctors:
 * Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)


 * Treatment:
 * Attempted resuscitation

Michael was brought to the ER after a car accident. The doctors attempted resuscitation, but it was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead in the ER.

ER Patients

 * Diagnosis:
 * Burns


 * Doctors:
 * Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)


 * Treatment:

Owen had two burn patients moved from the ER to the burn unit.

Callie's Patient

 * Diagnosis:
 * Femur fracture


 * Doctors:
 * Callie Torres (orthopedic surgeon)


 * Treatment:

Callie said she was admitting a patient with a femur break.

Callie's Other Patient

 * Diagnosis:


 * Doctors:
 * Callie Torres (orthopedic surgeon)


 * Treatment:

Callie mentioned a patient who needed a consult from a respiratory therapist.

Drew Hawkins

 * Diagnosis:
 * Butterfly glioma
 * Cortical blindness


 * Doctors:
 * Amelia Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
 * Stephanie Edwards (surgical resident)


 * Treatment:
 * Tumor resection

Drew had a tumor in his brain and a lesion in his optic nerve which left him consciously blind, but unconsciously sighted, meaning he could reflexively react to stimuli such as a pen being thrown at him. He'd been totally blind for about a month. Amelia said she'd try for total resection, but at the very least, she'd get more time. Amelia was able to remove about 98% of his tumor, which would give him at least a few more years and restored his sight.

Brenda Bonaman

 * Diagnosis:
 * Gun shot wound
 * Shoulder dislocation
 * Zone two injury
 * Pregnancy


 * Doctors:
 * Callie Torres (orthopedic surgeon)
 * Miranda Bailey (general surgeon)
 * Maggie Pierce (cardiothoracic surgeon)
 * Ben Warren (surgical resident)


 * Treatment:
 * Vaginal delivery
 * Surgery

Brenda, 44, was shot in the neck accidentally and brought to the ER. She also had a dislocated shoulder, which had to be reduced under anesthesia. She was taken directly to the OR. Before being sedated, she complained of stomach pain and was found to be pregnant and on the edge of delivery. While she was pushing, she dis-lodged a pellet from her neck and it traveled to her heart. Despite complications, they were able to remove all the pellets and repair the damage. She woke up after surgery and met her daughter.

Baby Bonaman

 * Diagnosis:


 * Doctors:
 * Alex Karev (pediatric surgeon)


 * Treatment:

Brenda delivered a baby immediately before her surgery.

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song , originally sung by Beyoncé.
 * This episode scored million viewers.
 * Filming for this episode was scheduled from November 13 to November 25, 2014.
 * Assuming Patrick Dempsey won't appear in this episode, this episode makes Justin Chambers the actor who made most appearances. He appeared in all Grey's Anatomy episodes and made an additonal guest appearances on Private Practice, whereas Patrick now hasn't appeared in two Grey's Anatomy episodes and made only two guest appearances on Private Practice.
 * As of this episode, Kelly McCreary is credited as a series regular.