Dr. Alex Karev is a freaking ROCK STAR.
I know a lot will find this weird or even don't care to read this, but I wanted to bring this into the light because Alexander Michael Karev is the most UNDERRATED character and BEST doctor /surgeon on the show. Most if not the whole fandom missed it because they were too busy with the "holly" McDreamy drama, they missed HUGE medical ACHIEVEMENTS Alex did on his own, accomplishments that goes back to S1. P.S: this post will be long so I really hope you hang on because I can promise you it will be worth it (hope so).
let's start with S1 (you know the season where everyone was too busy hating him, missed the few good things/scenes he had).
1. first achievement: is in S1E08, Alex has a patient who need a valve replacement thus they need to use pig's valve. the patient is a Jewish orthodox so she can't have a pig's heart, Alex does some research and finds out that they can use a cow's valve instead. yes true maybe he didn't invent the procedure or did the surgery, but he found an alternative procedure, a procedure Burk didn't think about or consider until Alex brought it up and he was only an intern at the time.
2. second achievement: is in s2e02, patient came in with stomach problems after the x-rays everyone assumed that he swallowed bags of cocaine, until Alex noticed that it has faces when they deemed the lighting it was more clear then they all were able to see it as well. ok this wasn't a real accomplishment but he still noticed something most doctors dismisses as something else. he was still an intern at the time.
3. third achievement: is in S2E13, a patient/writer ate his novel/book because it wasn't good, Alex was thought there was something more than just the block of paper in his stomach, he checked up on the patient even though Dr. Webber told him that he needs to look after the floor, and because Alex followed up on the patient he diagnosed and saved him from mercury poisoning. he was still an intern at the time.
4. fourth achievement: is in S3E06,Alex helps to calm down the baby by talking about sports (boxing, because the father was talking about baseball/football) of a pregnant woman during surgery because she was in distress , because he read articles talking to baby can calm it down when distressed/moving. he was only an intern.
5. fifth achievement: is in S5E17, Alex a patient who's diagnosed with epilepsy and she has seizers because of her epilepsy, while sitting with the patient Alex notices that her heart rate goes down then she seizes, he then tells Hunt & Robins about what he noticed and they don't believe him but Alex insists on what he saw so Hunt tells him if he's wrong then the patient's death is on him, during the surgery it's proven that Alex was right and the patient was WRONGLY diagnosed with epilepsy, the right diagnoses is abnormal heart arrhythmias. He was only a resident at the time but he was able to diagnose a condition more senior doctor misdiagnose. Hunt even told him he let the chief know of what he did, and Robins told him it's pretty impressive for a resident and that he could be the future of the hospital.
6.sixsth achievement: is in S6E13, Alex has a patient who suffered from abdominal pains, the father doesn't believe his son and thinks he's lying to get off school, Alex advocates for his patient, later on after surgery (which they didn't find anything wrong) Alex had to open his chest because there was blood in the breathing tube, when he did he found the source of the bleeding which is cause because of ruptured aortic dissection, Teddy stated that's very rarely caught early let alone fixed before it's too late. he was only a resident at the time.
7. seventh achievement: is in S6E22, A patient comes in because she tried to claw her eyes out, her parents told Alex that she's been diagnosed schizophrenic, because Alex has a history/experience with schizophrenia he believed her when she said she's not crazy, and he read an article and run tests and was able to diagnose her, a diagnoses that's very hard to diagnose because it's very rare, he yet again corrected another misdiagnoses and helped the patient. he was only a resident at the time.
8. eightieth achievement: is in S7E8,Alex has a baby patient who had surgery for a liver transplant but the donor liver was too big for her tiny body so the attending PEDS surgeon just left it as it is, until Alex came up with an idea (all on his own) to take paint pang ball and use it to help stop the liver from compressing on her blood vessels. an idea that SAVED the baby and his attending was an asshole and took/tried to take credit for it. he was still a resident at the time.
9. ninth achievement: is in S7E12, this one is not a real medical achievement but unlike all of his fellow residents Alex actually taught the medical students (including the one he's in charge of) some sutures, he was actually a good teacher. he was only a resident at the time.
10.tenth achievement: is in S7E19, Alex started a program for African kids with medical problems and need surgeries they can't offered, now yes it wasn't well prepared and he did technically negotiate with a sick old patient to get the money (which he did NOT get until later and paid for everything HIMSELF) but he achieved it none the less and he kept alive later on for years to come. he was only a resident at the time.
11. eleventh: is in S8E23, Hopkins (BEST program, the DREAM any/every surgeon dreams of) WANTS Alex as an attending so much they created a position JUST for him, yes I do consider this as an achievement.
12.twelveth: is in S13E4, a patient comes in to the clink and everyone thinks she's an alcoholic but Alex diagnoses her with a very rare dieses, a dieses that's very hard to diagnose but he couldn't take credit at the time. he was and attending (sort of) at the time.
these are just few of the amazing Alex has achieved throughout the years but no one has noticed or cared because fans are too busy with the McDreamy drama and/or his achievements or the achievements of other more popular characters. this and much more is why Alex Michael Karev DESERVES TO HAVE MORE STORYLINES THAT CENTERS AROUNF HIM, HE DESERVES TO BE MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE "GOOD FRIEND" HE'S MUCH MORE THAN JUST " THE GOOD FRIEND" OR "BOYFRIEND" HE SHOULD BE GIVEN MORE INDEPENDENT STORYLINES/CASES.
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