After 21 seasons, it is no surprise that the cast of Grey’s Anatomy has seen significant changes from the original cast. In fact, only two of its original cast are still series regulars on the show. Twenty years is a long time to be on a show, and after getting the experience and perhaps their fill of medical and personal drama, it would make sense that the actors would want to explore different horizons. One character from the original cast, though, seemed primed to be removed from the show on multiple occasions before her actual exit.
Izzie Stevens was initially defined by her looks and humble origins in the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. As time passed, however, she proved to be a dedicated doctor with a heart big enough to fill the entire hospital. For whatever reason, she was also a lightning rod for trouble, suffering from tragedy, poor decisions, and ultimately, just terrible luck. On at least five occasions, she could have reasonably been let go from the show. Some of the most pivotal moments in Izzie’s career should have decided what her future looked like away from the hospital.
5. Izzie Tried to Save Someone She Loved, But It Ended Up Killing Him
Grey’s Anatomy Season 2
Most doctors attempt to maintain a professional distance from their patients. It is one thing to care for their health, but another to become more deeply involved in their personal lives. At Seattle Grace Hospital (before it was renamed), the staff there can’t help but get involved in each other’s personal lives, no matter how messy things might get. Izzie’s secret relationship with Denny Duquette, a man in need of a new heart, was perhaps the best example of this.
It showcased the dangers of becoming too emotionally involved with a patient, and how that might complicate medical procedure. Izzie cut Denny’s LVAD wire, potentially putting his life at risk, just to push him up the waitlist for a new heart. In doing so, she got Denny his new heart, but at the cost of denying it to someone who needed it more before Denny’s wire was cut. The great tragedy of all this was that it didn’t matter in the end. The stress that Denny’s body underwent because of cutting the wire eventually caused him to have a fatal stroke.
He died on the same night Izzie wanted to go out with him on a date to an impromptu prom thrown in the hospital. The experience was so traumatizing for Izzie that she promptly quit on the spot, believing that the horrible lengths she went to for Denny showed she was unworthy of being a doctor. Eventually, Izzie found her confidence again, but this incident showed how she could easily be spurred on to reckless and dangerous actions to get what she wanted. If this had been a real hospital, she could never have practiced medicine again and would promptly replace her.
4. Izzie Only Had a 5% Survival Rate After Getting Diagnosed With Cancer
Grey’s Anatomy Season 5
Cristina Yang trying to convinceIzzie Stevens to fight her cancer in Grey’s Anatomy.
Izzie’s bad luck didn’t end with Denny’s passing either. Death would take a shot at her when she found out she had cancer. What was even more horrific was that it was a metastatic melanoma, meaning the cancer had spread throughout her body and left her with poor chances of surviving such an affliction. Though she initially refused treatment at first, Izzie eventually underwent chemotherapy and radiation to try to fight her cancer. Miraculously, she survived the ordeal and has remained cancer-free to this day.
Now, Izzie was given a five percent chance of surviving this, even with the resources at her disposal. Most people would simply have given up and started preparing for the end. It would have been a way for the show to slowly phase Izzie out as the audience braced itself for the tragic end to Izzie’s story. As in real life, though, sometimes the impossible can become a reality. Izzie was lucky. She had the benefit of an entire team of doctors who loved her like family, an incredible support system, and perhaps a bit of plot armor on her side.
3. Izzie Getting Short-Term Memory Loss
Grey’s Anatomy Season 5
denny is staring at izzie in grey’s anatomy.
Continuing on from Izzie’s cancer scare, the matter of her treatment didn’t come without repercussions. When Izzie was ready, the doctors worked to remove the melanoma, but this came with an unanticipated consequence: upon waking up from surgery, Izzie would suffer from short-term memory loss. She could only process thirty seconds of memory before her mind would forget it, resetting her every few seconds. A hellish prospect, but one that ultimately proved temporary.
Izzie’s cancer had spread to the brain, liver, and skin by the time she realized what was wrong.
The thing is, this sort of condition could easily have been used as an excuse to write Izzie off of the show. Yet, given that she had just survived cancer, having her exit the show due to not being able to remember, likely confined to a nursing home, would not have been a satisfying ending to her journey. No, the likely cause for her memory loss was simply to infuse more drama into the story.
2. Nearly Dying After Recovering Her Memory
Grey’s Anatomy Season 5
Izzie crying on Grey’s Anatomy
Izzie’s battle against cancer was just a series of increasingly close calls. After the surgery to remove the melanoma, she suffered from temporary memory loss, but once it had passed, she flatlined. What was of note here was that Izzie was well aware of the potential risks the surgery could have on her body and, to avoid potentially ending up in a vegetative state, she signed a DNR, a “Do Not Resuscitate” form that would ensure, should the worst occur, her friends and family would respect her wishes and allow her to pass.
They did not respect this and ignored the DNR, bringing Izzie back with no permanent damage. Depending on how vindictive the show was feeling, this could easily have ended the story in one of two ways. The first is that she could have simply died because of the flatline, with her friends respecting her wishes to be let go even if it broke their hearts.
The second was that Izzie could have been furious enough at their refusal to heed her wishes and left the hospital in a fury so she could be around doctors she could trust. This was the closest Izzie ever came to dying, and what makes this even more heartbreaking is that this is also the episode where George O’Malley dies. In a cruel twist, he was the first member of the original cast to leave the show, not Izzie.
1. Izzie Gets Cut from the Program
Grey’s Anatomy Season 6
Even after recovering from her cancer, Izzie’s luck continued to sour. The merger with another hospital resulted in new surgical interns being recruited, causing the program to become much more competitive as resources were scarce, forcing some people to be cut from the program. After having a falling out with a new intern, who was trying to befriend Izzie, Izzie gets distracted and administers the wrong medication to a patient.
This puts the patient’s life in danger, costing her a much-needed kidney transplant. The incident forced Doctor Webber to fire Izzie, as it was one mistake too many. Izzie promptly left her home and Alex Karev, who she had married, because she partially blamed him for her situation. Izzie would later return for her final PET scan to patch things up with Alex. By that point, though, Alex had moved on, and felt they needed to start over without one another.
Realizing that her time at Seattle Grace had ended, Izzie respected Alex’s wishes and began moving out of Meredith Grey’s house. Though Meredith tried to convince her to stay, this time, Izzie never came back. Her time at Seattle Grace had been educational, but her emotional bonds had been dwindling with every incident, and ultimately, her time was just as bad as it had been good. She needed a fresh start, and she couldn’t get that by sticking around.
