| “ | Patients who undergo an amputation often feel a sensation where the missing limb was as if it's still there. The syndrome is called phantom limb. It's as if the body can't accept that a terrible trauma has occurred. The mind is trying to make the body complete again. Patients who experience phantom limb report many different sensations but by far the most common is pain. The body can be stubborn when it comes to accepting change. The mind holds out hope that the body can be whole again and the mind will always fight for hope, tooth and nail. Until it finds a way of understanding its new reality and accepts that what is gone is gone forever. | ” |
Walking on a Dream is the twelfth episode of the ninth season and the 184th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary
The Seattle Grace doctors are on edge when a new medical professional enters the hospital; Arizona struggles with the emotional and physical pain of a phantom limb; and while battling pregnancy hormones, an overly-emotional Meredith is confronted with her worst fear.
Full Summary
While Meredith's voice over talks about the phantom limb syndrome, Arizona is running in the park. She gets paged to the hospital. In the ER, the nurse tells her that the patient has an open femur fracture with signs of massive infection, following a plane crash. As she walks behind the gurney, Arizona experiences pain in her left leg. Suddenly, it breaks apart in hundreds of glass pieces. She falls down. Arizona wakes up in her bed after her nightmare, and Callie, who woke up too, asks if "it's hurting again". Arizona says it's fine, and as Callie goes back to sleep, Arizona touches the place on her matress where her leg normally should've been.
Derek's first surgery with his "new" hand is an acoustic neuroma. Callie wants his first surgery to be one with a little more room for error, but Derek says it has to be today as he was supposed to operate on his patient, Jimmy, months ago, but then there was the plane crash. "If you can do this, I guess my hand can do anything," Callie says. "It's still my hand!" Derek says, as they join the other doctors waiting for Owen. He starts his speech, which says that, following the financial setback of the hospital, the board has hired a physician advisor to help. He explains what a physician advisor does, but Bailey describes it as "who to fire, when to fire them". Owen says she'll only help, and that he wanted to introduce her in person, but she's late. "On her first day? Not very efficient," Cristina comments. Owen says that they can expect to see her anywhere. Derek is not wild about the idea of an accountant following them, but Owen says that the physician advisor is a trained surgeon. As the surgeons disperse, Meredith asks Derek for a minute. "It's urgent," she says.
"This is urgent?" Derek asks as he and Meredith are kissing in an on-call room. Meredith says it is, as the pregnancy hormones make her want to have sex all the time. Meredith gets paged for a consult, which makes her cry, because she now cries everytime she's mad. Shane knocks on the door, asking Derek if he can talk to Meredith for him, because he'd like to be on Derek's service instead of Meredith's. Meredith opens the door, and she tells him to go do the workup of their patient. She slams the door in his face, kisses Derek again and leaves too.
Stephanie is covering the swamped ER and she asks April to help. As Stephanie doesn't know what bed a patient with shortness of breath is in, April tells her she'll learn her how to cover the pit. They apologize to the patient, who turns out not to be patient: it's the physician advisor, who wanted to know how long it'd take before someone pulled out a stethoscope. She asks them to point her towards Owen.
Meredith is examining Brie, a pregnant female with abdominal pain. Heide, the patient's partner babbles as she's nervous. As Meredith says the baby is fine, Shane comes in with the lab results, but he ordered a wrong test. He goes off to order the right, and leaves her with the lab work he didn't forget.
Arizona and Alex are in a patient room, telling their patient's mother that the African program will stay in this hospital. Cristina explains to the mother what's wrong with her daughter's heart. Alex simplifies the explanation, and the mother translates for her daughter. Cristina and Alex step outside, and Cristina thinks that the physician advisor will make the African program disappear. "They're orphans!" Alex says. "Now you're just making my point," Cristina replies.
Bailey is helping out Meredith, whose patient is deteriorating. Shane comes in with the new lab results, and it turns out the patient is in liver failure. Heidi returns from the gift shop, and she is in shock when she sees Brie. Outside the room, Bailey and Meredith tell her that Brie will need a liver transplant, and assure her that the baby's fine.
Derek and Jo enter Jimmy's room, where Jimmy and his sister Carla greet them. Jimmy confesses that he tried to find another surgeon while Derek's hand was healing, but no one would go near his neuroma. Derek says they need to take scans to see if the neuroma has gotten worse. Outside, Derek wants Jo to switch with Shane, as Ross knows what Derek wants before he asks it and he won't have time to teach her on this case. As Jo walks away, Owen introduces Derek to Alana. She asks if pre-op overnights stays are typical, but Derek says she should ask Owen. He then walks away to go prep. She says she'll see him in the OR tomorrow. He turns around, and says she typically needs to be invited. "If things were running typically, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" she asks. Derek continues walking, and Owen and Alana continue their tour.
Paramedic Matthew brings in Brian Turner, and April and Stephanie take him inside the ER. April leaves for a second ambulance.
Alana says that she had to wait 45 minutes in the ER. They pass Richard, who recognizes her as being one of his former students. He says she was a gifted surgeon and thinks she wants to join the staff, but Owen informs him that she's the physican advisor.
Shane, who's waiting outside for UNOS to call, doesn't want to trade with Jo, as he doesn't want to upset Meredith once again. She takes his phone, and then UNOS calls. He takes back his phone and answers the call.
Cristina, Alex and Arizona are operating. Cristina suspects the kid has a rare disease, and she gets excited. Meanwhile, Arizona is suffering again from phantom limb. As Cristina wants to send a nurse to pathology with the biopsy she took from the heart, Arizona says that she'll take it. She walks outside, being in more pain, and sits down on a gurney, where she touches her leg.
Arizona is sitting in a lounge. She has taken off her prosthetic, when Alana and Owen come in. Owen asks Alana if she can give them a minute, and she steps outside. Owen sits down next to Arizona, and he asks if it's phantom limb pain, and she nodds. Callie told him it only happened at night. "Until now. I'm going crazy," Arizona says. He says she's not, as phantom limb is a very real thing. "I have pain in a part of me that no longer exists," Arizona says, as Owen takes a mirror out of a closet. He places it between her legs, so it mirrors her right leg. He says there are many ways that can possibly help cure the phantom limb pain, including virtual reality therapy. He says that there even was a guy in the army that had to stab his prosthetic as hard as he could, as it was the only thing that worked for him. Arizona confesses that seeing a left leg in the mirror makes the pain a little better. Owen says that Callie knows all of this, and he asks if she told Callie. Arizona says she hasn't, as she finally stopped feeling like a patient, and started feeling like a wife again. She doesn't want her life to be screwed over by something that's not even there anymore. Owen gets her, and he says they will work together to figure it out.
Cristina is telling Meredith about the rare disease she diagnosed the African kid with, while Meredith is carrying an organ transplant box. She asks Bailey to get another intern, but she tells her to be merciful to Shane and suck it up.
Derek enter Jimmy's room, where Jimmy and Carla are discussing who'll eat the giant cookie a family member sent him. Jimmy's tumor has grown, which means the chances of complications are higher. He tells Jimmy to think about the surgery again, but Jimmy wants to go through with it. Carla leaves the room, and Derek walks up to her. She tells him that the months he spend recovering from the plane crash were the best months they've had together. "I'm ready. We both are," she says, and she goes back into Jimmy's room. Jo comes over and gives him a test result, telling him that Shane went to pick up a liver with Meredith. Derek says he wants no one in the gallery during the surgery, and asks if she's up for the surgery, which she says she is.
Shane and Meredith are in an ambulance, and he apologizes for the thing with the labs, but she says to let it go. He congratulates on the baby and starts talking about what happens in the second trimester, but he stops when she yells at him.
Paramedic Matthew informs April and Stephanie on the crash their patient was in. April teaches Stephanie how to find the body parts that suffered most from the impact the body took in the crash, and they starts examining the patient. Matthew tries to get April's attention, but only Stephanie notices, so he quietly leaves.
Meredith and Shane are taking out the donor's liver, and Shane makes a terrible mistake. "See what he did? Don't ever do that," one of the surgeons in the room tells his intern.
Arizona walks up to Alex, who's talking to Cahill. Alana asks if everything worked out all right, and Arizona says it did, apologizing that Alana had to see it. Alana understands, and Alex says that he informed Cahill on the surgery Arizona let him finish. Cahill asks who will perform the second surgery, and Arizona replies that she will with Dr. Yang. Cahill walks away, and Alex is worried about her. He wants everything to well during the surgery, as he doesn't want Cahill to cut the program.
Cristina, Alex and Arizona are operating. As Arizona cuts into the patient, her left leg hurts. It's bleeding. Alex and Cristina barely react, and she calms herself down. When she continues to cut, her leg starts bleeding more. Alex and Cristina don't react as she tores open her pants, revealing two big cuts in her leg. As the patient starts crashing, Alex and Cristina watch how Arizona takes a scalpel and starts cutting off her leg. Arizona wakes up from the horrible dream, and she gasps.
In the morning, Arizona is sitting on the bathroom floor with the mirror in between her legs. Callie wants to come in, but Arizona has locked the door, and she manages to make Callie go away by coming up with excuses.
Meredith tells Heidi that the liver is no longer viable due to a surgical complication. Bailey explains they'll wait for another liver, and that they might have to deliver the baby. Heide starts crying and beggs them to fix Brie. Meredith walks outside, and Shane follows her. He politely asks her not to tell her husband what happened, because Derek still thinks he's the "golden boy". Meredith says he doesn't get to think about himself now because he destroyed a perfectly good liver. Shane gets a call, and he thinks it's UNOS. Meredith takes his phone and answers the call.
Alana is watching the OR board, trying to fit in as much surgeries as she can observe into her agenda. Jo hears her, and she changes the 8 AM of Derek's surgery into 3 PM. Richard wants to have a coffee with her, but she prefers to observe more surgeries.
Owen is trying something new with Arizona. She has to teach her mind to calm the waves of the sea she sees on a screen. This will help her teach her mind to calm the pain. It's not working, but as it's the only option left (besides stabbing her prosthetic), she decides to try again.
Stephanie and Jackson are in on-call room, starting to make out. Stephanie realizes she's too busy today to do this, so she leaves.
Meredith is on the phone with UNOS, informing them on the patient. Shane and Bailey are waiting for her to tell them the new liver is viable. Shane thinks it is, as Meredith otherwise would've start crying. Meredith hangs up the phone: the liver is a match. Shane has to fly to Portland, but Bailey wants her to go. She doesn't want to, as she can't get on a plane, but Bailey says she might need to try it again. Meredith says that the team in Portland will do all the work, so Shane just has to carry a cooler. Shane is still doubting, but Bailey calms him down by saying it's normal that interns make mistakes. She also says that he needs to get past it, while looking at Meredith, like she wants to say that she has to get over her fear of flying, but Meredith walks away, so Bailey and Shane have to go to Portland.
Jo and Derek are operating on Jimmy. He tells her that when a timer dings, she needs to drench the tissue. He also informs her that she needs to watch Jimmy's face when he stimulates the facial nerve. If his face twitches, it means Jimmy's facial function is still intact.
Bailey and Shane are in the plane, that doesn't take off. The pilot tells them he got word to hold a minute. Meredith enters the plane, saying Bailey was right. "I can do this," she says. Bailey gets off the plane. Meredith is extremely nervous and keeps her eyes closed as the plane take off.
Meredith and Shane are taking out the liver. Meanwhile, Meredith is on the phone with Bailey. She tells her that she can prep their patient for surgery. As Meredith puts the liver into the bassin, Shane sees a mass on the liver. They have to have it biopsied.
Alana and Owen are in the gallery, watching Arizona operate. They are talking about the costs of the African program, when Arizona knocks over something down in the OR. Through the intercom, Owen tells her to picture the waves. "They're tsunami-force waves," Arizona tells him. Alana asks what's wrong with Arizona and asks if she should even be allowed in the OR. Owen wants her to go, and tells her that Derek started operating on the acoustic neuroma hours ago, so she leaves to go to Derek's OR. Alex wants to take over Arizona's place, but Cristina says Arizona can't move as the instruments can't be moved.
Heide thinks something must be wrong with the liver and asks Bailey about it. She tells her about the mass, and Heidi panics. As Bailey calms her down, Meredith calls to tell her the liver's fine.
Jimmy's facial function is still intact. Alana comes in, and she's mad at Jo for lying to her. Derek says that Jo did what he told her to do, and he tells Cahill that she's not welcome in his OR as she's not surgically necessary. She steps out.
Arizona asks Alex to switch, but Cristina can't allow it as Arizona is holding the mitral valve. Arizona then asks Alex to take a scalpel and stab her in her prosthetic foot. Alex doesn't listen, thinking she's gone crazy. "Dr. Karev, I'm the Chief of Surgery, this is an order: stab Dr. Robbins in the foot right now!" Owen tells him as Alana walks back into the gallery. "Of course," Owen says, when Cahill gives him a strange look. Meanwhile, Alex takes a scalpel and stabs Arizona in the foot. This really helps Arizona.
There's a bleeding in Jimmy's brain. They check the facial function once again, but Jo doesn't see any twitch. This means they may have caused Jimmy the ability to move half his face, but they won't know for sure until he wakes up.
Shane and Meredith come in with the liver. As Meredith watches her patient, she starts crying. "So you cry when you're happy too?" Shane asks. "Apparently. Eyes on the liver, learn something!" Meredith says while crying.
In the ER, Stephanie gives April a perfect status report. April compliments her, when paramedic Matthew comes over and asks her to grab a cup of coffee together. Stephanie is amused to hear his awkward babbling, which makes April smile too.
Cristina asks their patient's mother what else they have over there. The mother doesn't understand. "Sick orphan children, kids with heart problems," Cristina clarifies. "She means she's glad the program is up and running again. Both of us are," Alex saves her.
Jo and Derek check on Jimmy's facial function, and everything is all right. His sister is delighted.
Alana is in a meeting with the attendings, and she says she's impressed by what she's seen. As she starts talking about Alex's African program, Cristina gets up. "You cannot cut that program! I'm sorry, but these children, these little orphans, we are the only hope they have. Many of them have rare disorders that most Western doctors rarely have the opporunity to treat and if you stop the program, I will never have that chance again!" she says. The other doctors give her a strange look. "They. They will never have that chance again. Precious children," she corrects herself. Alana says she has no intention of cutting the program, as that kind of positive visibility is golden for the hospital. She then suggest to close the ER. The doctors objects, but Alana says that the ER is not bringing in the money at all as it's hemorrhaging resources. "This is ridiculous! You can't close the ER. You went to med school, you have ask yourself," Derek starts to object, but he's interrupted by Bailey. "Do you have a better idea? Because the way I see it, this woman is trying to keep the hospital from closing, in which case there'd be no patients, we'd have no jobs, and some of us don't have a few million to fall back on. So unless you have a better idea, why don't you just sit there and listen to what she has to say?" Bailey says. While the other doctors are surprised, Alana continues her speech.
Richard approaches Alana and asks her not to judge so harshly, but she says it's part of her job. She knows that he's disappointed in her, but it's not his job anymore to judge her. "You said something during my intern year that I've never forgotten. You said: "Medicine is constantly changing. You need to be part of that change, or get out." I'll be making some changes. You should be proud of me," she says. As she gets in the elevator, she tells him that he logged fewer OR hours than any other general surgeon on staff last month.
Callie and Arizona are in their bedroom. Callie is ranting about Cahill. Arizona wants to go to sleep, but Callie is too pissed to do so. "Do you want to go to the beach with me?" Arizona asks.
Meredith is mad at Bailey for calling out Derek. Derek understands, as she's just nervous like everybody else. "It's not our fault, is it?" Meredith asks, but Derek says that it feels like it is. She then congratulates him with his hand, and he congratulates her because she finally got over her fear of flying.
In a dream, Callie and Arizona are sitting on the beach together. In reality, they're lying in bed, smiling. "This kind of works," Callie says.
Cast
Main Cast
- Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
- Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
- 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
- Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Guest Stars
- Constance Zimmer as Dr. Alana Cahill
- Justin Bruening as Paramedic Matthew
- Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson
- Gaius Charles as Dr. Shane Ross
- Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards
- Wes Ramsey as Jimmy McAdams
- Navi Rawat as Heidi McAdams
- Laura Heisler as Carla
Co-Starring
- Elizabeth Anweis as Brie
- Kirk Bovill as Brian Turner
- Ameenah Kaplan as Makena
- Michael Albala as Harvest Surgeon
- Kate Mines as Nurse Gloria
- Vito Viscuso as Pilot
- Leah Morgan as Nyah
Uncredited
- Naomi Coai as Surgical Nurse
Medical Notes
Music
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Time to Run" | Lord Huron |
|
| "Someone" | Future of Foresty |
|
| "Forever" | Matt Hires |
|
Notes and Trivia
- This episode's title originated from the song Walking on a Dream, originally sung by Empire of the Sun.
- This episode scored 9.01 million viewers.
- Although in a dream, this is the last time Arizona Robbins is seen with both her legs.
- Goof: On the ER board, a doctor named A. Cahill is listed as the doctor to A. Kirker, the patient in bed 8. The patient with shortness of breath in bed 6 is called A. Whiting, though A. Whiting is also listed as the doctor to the patient in bed 5. Most likely, the cards with A. Cahill and A. Whiting should be switched, as Alana Cahill acted as if she was experiencing shortness of breath.
Gallery
Episode Stills
Behind the Scenes
Quotes
- Alana Cahill: Look, I know these cuts are going to be painful, but understand that I am trying to keep your hospital doors open.
- Derek: This is ridiculous. You can't close the ER. You went to med school, you have to ask yourself...
- Bailey: Do you have a better idea? Because, the way I see it, this woman is trying to keep the hospital from closing, in which case there'd be no patients, we'd have no jobs, and... Some of don't have a few million to fall back on, so, unless you have a better idea, why don't you just sit there and listen to what she has to say?
- Alana Cahill: Well, I'll see you in the OR tomorrow.
- Derek: Typically, you need to be invited.
- Alana Cahill: If things were running typically, I wouldn't be here, now would I?
- April: I apologize for the wait, Madam. You're experiencing shortness of breath?
- Alana Cahill: Luckily, no. 45 minutes in an ER bed before a doctor pulls out a stethoscope, I'd likely be experiencing shortness of life.
| Grey's Anatomy Season 9 | ||||||
| #01 | "Going, Going, Gone" | #09 | "Run, Baby, Run" | #17 | "Transplant Wasteland" | |
| #02 | "Remember the Time" | #10 | "Things We Said Today" | #18 | "Idle Hands" | |
| #03 | "Love the One You're With" | #11 | "The End is the Beginning is the End" | #19 | "Can't Fight This Feeling" | |
| #04 | "I Saw Her Standing There" | #12 | "Walking on a Dream" | #20 | "She's Killing Me" | |
| #05 | "Beautiful Doom" | #13 | "Bad Blood" | #21 | "Sleeping Monster" | |
| #06 | "Second Opinion" | #14 | "The Face of Change" | #22 | "Do You Believe in Magic" | |
| #07 | "I Was Made for Lovin' You" | #15 | "Hard Bargain" | #23 | "Readiness is All" | |
| #08 | "Love Turns You Upside Down" | #16 | "This is Why We Fight" | #24 | "Perfect Storm" | |
| << Season 8 | Season 10 >> | |||||