Carla McAdams

Carla McAdams is the sister of Jimmy McAdams, a patient at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

Diagnosis
Carla's sister, Jimmy, was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a type of brain tumor. Derek Shepherd was supposed to operate on him, but then his plane crashed. Because no one else would attempt to operate, Jimmy waited until Derek had recovered to have surgery.

Surgery
By the time he was able to get his surgery, Jimmy was experiencing severe headaches and was so dizzy that he could barely stand up. Scans revealed that the tumor had progressed, which increased the risks of the surgery. He decided to proceed anyway.

In surgery, they to to test his facial function continuously. His face twitched throughout the surgery until after a bleeder. They wouldn't know until after he woke up if they had paralyzed half his face. However, after he woke up, he was able to hear and his facial expression was symmetrical.

Familial
Carla took care of her brother after he was diagnosed with his tumor. She later said that while she hated that Derek had been in a plane crash, she was grateful it had given her a few more months with her brother because those months had been the best of their lives.

Notes and Trivia

 * While her brother was in surgery, she ate the jumbo cookie their cousin, Dora, had sent to him.