'Grey's Anatomy' season 13 spoilers: Theory says older Meredith has Alzheimer's and made everything up

There's a heartbreaking theory about "Grey's Anatomy" that may explain why the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital are so accident-prone.

As fans recall, the building collapse in the midseason finale of "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 is only the latest in a string of numerous fatal and near-fatal mishaps that have occurred in and around the hospital. So far, there has been an earthquake, a flood, a forest fire, two hospital shootings, a bomb and an airplane crash. Doctors have been electrocuted, shot, impaled by an icicle, hit by a bus, hit by a semi-truck, beaten, and nearly drowned.

While all of these can be explained by the simple fact that "Grey's Anatomy" exists in Shondaland, where almost anything can and will happen, could there be another reason for the near-continuous series of unfortunate events?

According to Entertainment Weekly, one possible but extremely sad reason could be that an elderly Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is merely narrating these events to her three children and that her memories are altered because she, like her mother before her, has Alzheimer's. This, unfortunately, is what the present Meredith has been dreading since witnessing her mother's illness and after she tested positive for several genetic markers for the disease in a previous season.

The theory states that just as Meredith used to tell her mom stories on the visits to the assisted living facility where Ellis (Kate Burton) resided in the show's first few seasons, the voiceovers for each episode is Meredith recounting the events of her heyday at Grey Sloan to her children. And because Meredith could be suffering from advanced Alzheimer's or even dementia, her memories are woven with fiction.

If this is the case, is it possible that Meredith merely made up the story of Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) death? Could he have abandoned her, leaving the older Meredith to replace a sad memory with a less heartbreaking one?

Speaking of Meredith's love life, now more than ever, "Grey's Anatomy" fans are feeling the vibes between Meredith and Alex (Justin Chambers) and are looking forward to their romance finally becoming a reality when season 13 returns in 2017.

After the first half of "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 ended last week, fans took to Twitter to express their hopes for a future romance between their two favorite Grey Sloan doctors.

"Meredith and Alex are gonna be the most glorious ship ever in a couple of years mark my words," one fan tweeted.

"[C]an Alex & Meredith please realize they're meant to be together.??" another wrote.

"Grey's Anatomy" season 13 returns on Jan. 19, 2017, at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.