Keith Gardner was crushed and trapped in his car after a tunnel collapse.
History[]
Baby[]
Keith went on a date with Joan Paulson. On the first date, they had sex and Joan got pregnant. Because of the baby coming, they decided to stay together and get to know one another.
Joan went into labor one morning. The doctor said she could wait, but she insisted that Keith take her to the hospital right away. He wanted to take the bridge, but she insisted on the tunnel, because it's faster.
Tunnel Collapse[]
While they were driving in the tunnel, it collapsed, crushing their car and trapping both of them. The rescue workers were able to extract Joan and take her to the hospital, but Keith remained trapped in the car.
Amelia, Maggie, April, and Meredith came out to the scene as a team and started to evaluate Keith and look for options to treat him and keep him alive so they could get him out of the car. They suspected a collapsed lung and put in a chest tube. He also had a piece of the car penetrating his abdomen. They did what they could to stop the bleeding and then stepped away to discuss options. Since none of the options were really workable, April said he was a black tag. There was nothing more they could do. She sent the other three back to the hospital and said she'd stay while they cut Keith out and do what she could for him.
They were then surprised when April showed up at the hospital with Keith still trapped in his car. She said that she couldn't just leave him to die, so she figured out a solution that gave them more time. ("Time Stops")
Extraction and Surgery[]
Once he arrived at the hospital, they doctors began to discuss how they'd get Keith out. Hal and his team began to cut away at the car, but they had to stop when Meredith realized it was ripping Keith up from the inside out. So they stopped and decided to start the exploratory laparotomy outside and clamp off everything they could before rushing him inside to repair the damage. Keith began to express doubt that he'd live through it, so Meredith talked to Alex and they brought Keith and Joan's son outside to see him. When they took the baby away and got ready, Keith said it was a bad idea, because now that he'd seen his son, he'd be pissed if it didn't work and he died. The doctors then sedated Keith and got to work. Owen and April clamped off every bleeder they could and then rushed him inside, where a path to the only available OR, a plastics OR, had been made. He coded in the elevator on the way up, but they were able to restore sinus rhythm in the OR before continuing the surgery.
After his surgery was completed, he was awake and stable in a room with Joan, who was also stable and awake. ("You're My Home")
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Keith is engaged to Joan Paulson. They had sex on their first date and Joan got pregnant. Because of that, they decided to stick it out and get to know each other during the pregnancy.
Familial[]
Keith has one son with Joan, who was born in an elevator while Keith was trapped in his car.
Notes and Trivia[]
- He says Joan liking techno music would normally have been a dealbreaker, but he stuck it out because of the baby.
- He and Joan both like watching tennis, but not playing.
Gallery[]
Episodic[]
Episode Stills[]
Appearances[]
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 11 | |||||
| #01 | "I Must Have Lost It on the Wind" | #09 | "Where Do We Go From Here" | #17 | "With or Without You" |
| #02 | "Puzzle With a Piece Missing" | #10 | "The Bed's Too Big Without You" | #18 | "When I Grow Up" |
| #03 | "Got to Be Real" | #11 | "All I Could Do Was Cry" | #19 | "Crazy Love" |
| #04 | "Only Mama Knows" | #12 | "The Great Pretender" | #20 | "One Flight Down" |
| #05 | "Bend & Break" | #13 | "Staring at the End" | #21 | "How to Save a Life" |
| #06 | "Don't Let's Start" | #14 | "The Distance" | #22A #22B |
"She's Leaving Home, Part 1" "She's Leaving Home, Part 2" |
| #07 | "Could We Start Again, Please?" | #15 | "I Feel the Earth Move" | #23 | "Time Stops" |
| #08 | "Risk" | #16 | "Don't Dream It's Over" | #24 | "You're My Home" |