In the ninth season of Grey's Anatomy, Derek Shepherd tells Meredith Grey, "We've survived an unusual number of very bad things." His observation is accurate, though a bit of an understatement. As even the most casual viewer knows, the doctors of Grey's Anatomy have cheated death multiple times. This is especially true for Meredith Grey, who has somehow survived an exploding bomb, an active shooter, a plane crash, and drowning.

Despite the doctors' best efforts, Meredith technically dies after being rescued from the water in the Season 3 episode "Drowning on Dry Land." In her unconscious state, Meredith experiences visions of those who have passed on before her, including Bonnie (the young woman impaled by a pole in the train wreck), the bomb squad's Dylan Young, and Denny — Izzie Stevens' late fiancé. Just before coming back to life, Meredith suddenly sees her mother, Ellis Grey, who tells her, "You are anything but ordinary, Meredith." After an embrace, Ellis tells her daughter to run — and at Seattle Grace, Meredith's heart starts beating once again. Unfortunately, as we later learn, her mother has passed away.