A measles outbreak on Grey’s Anatomy led to a main character revealing their chronic illness diagnosis — and temporarily leaving the hospital.
During the Thursday, November 12, episode of the hit ABC series, Wes (Trevor Jackson) and Simone (Alexis Floyd) were at odds after she told him her ex-boyfriend Lucas (Niko Terho) — whom she recently hooked up with — was moving into the same house as her.
The fictional couple were also working on the same medical case, which involved a patient with a mysterious rash that turned out to be measles. Wes ran out of the hospital, a reaction Simone thought stemmed from their fight.
Instead, Wes revealed he had CVID (Common Variable Immunodeficiency) and the condition prevented him from being able to get vaccinated. His body does not produce enough antibodies to fight off germs effectively, so he had to leave the hospital for 28 days while they waited to see if he would develop symptoms.
Elsewhere in the episode, Jo (Camilla Luddington) delivered friend Corrie’s (Sarah Levy) baby in the back of an ambulance after major complications. Instead of being triggered by the procedure, Jo realized she wanted to return to work.
Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), meanwhile, was starting to pick up on signs that Link (Chris Carmack) was addicted to the pain pills he prescribed for himself. Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) faced his own issues when his dad arrived at the hospital to allegedly reconnect amid his terminal cancer diagnosis.
Kwan initially believed his father, who was absent all his life, but with Jules’ (Adelaide Kane) help, he realized his dad was trying to manipulate him into donating his bone marrow. Cracks also began to emerge in Ben (Jason George) and Miranda’s (Chandra Wilson) marriage.
Grey’s Anatomy has had its fair share of shakeups this season with an even more limited number of episodes. The medical drama previously had as many as 27 episodes per season, but this year, there are only 13.
Despite the major changes, executive producer Meg Marinis is holding out hope that some former cast members might find a way to return this season.
“I hope so! We love bringing former cast [members] back when they’re available and it makes sense story-wise,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in October. “We have some ideas percolating, so I’m hopeful we’ll have some fun nostalgic surprises for fans this season.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
