Grey’s Anatomy Says Goodbye To Ellen Pompeo With Moving Tribute!

The time has come for Meredith Grey to say goodbye to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Before Ellen Pompeo leaves the series on February 23, ABC took a trip down memory lane in a moving tribute to the 53-year-old actress posted on YouTube Thursday. With a cover of Snow Patrol’s song Chasing Cars in the background, the emotional clip opens up with Richard Webber’s speech to the interns in the first episode of Grey’s in 2005 while showing different clips of Meredith:

“This is your starting line. This is your arena. Today, you are the doctor.”

It then cuts to several moments from the past 19 seasons, including a flashback to the iconic “Pick me. Choose me. Love me.” line. We also saw a ton of familiar faces, such as George O’Malley, Izzie Stevens, Cristina Yang, and Derek Shepherd. Ellen also can be heard saying:

“I have a lot of memories of people. This is the place where I fell in love. The place where I found my family. This is where I learned to be a doctor. This is where I learned to be a doctor. I’ve saved lives and I’ve had my life saved. I’ve been through broken bones and a broken home. And the death of people I love.”

At one point, the footage shows the next generation of residents as she notes:

“As one chapter closes, a new one opens. And this is the place I will forever call home.”

You can watch the emotional tribute (below):

It’s the end of an era! But fans can still see Meredith one last time as Ellen is coming back for the season 19 finale. Are you bummed Ellen is leaving Grey’s, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via ABC/YouTube]