Grey’s Anatomy: Will the illness that plagued Robin Williams take Richard from us too?

We may not find out what’s wrong with Richard Webber before this season of Grey’s Anatomy ends, but we do have some theories.

The biggest question on Grey’s Anatomy fans’ minds right now — aside from Is DeLuca still riding that motorcycle off into the distance? — is this: What’s wrong with Richard Webber?

Last week’s big twist revealed the condition that started with a seemingly mild tremor had quickly progressed into hallucinations, confusion, and maybe a stroke or a seizure. (We’re not sure yet.)

We don’t know if we’ll find out next episode what’s causing Richard’s symptoms. But that hasn’t stopped the fandom from using 16 seasons’ worth of medical knowledge (you know, the kind you get from watching primetime medical dramas) to put all the clues together.

Some fans have cited liver disease as a possible cause, since it can lead to a specific type of decline in brain function. Richard’s alcohol misuse is a major part of his ongoing storyline, and it seems like a logical direction to take his character arc.

Some of the symptoms match up, such as shaking hands and confusion. He would likely have to be in late-stage liver failure at this point to experience hallucinations like that, though, and it’s difficult to say if he could have gone this long without experiencing other symptoms to warrant an earlier diagnosis.

Because Richard has had a “cancer storyline” before — he had a brain tumor early on in the series — it’s unlikely they’ll revisit that again. We’ve seen multiple main and recurring characters go through the same thing in the past few seasons alone.

The hope is that they’ll go for something new. Preferably not Alzheimer’s, since his late wife Adele and Meredith’s mother (his “secret lover”) both died due to complications of the condition. Circling back to that would feel a little too familiar.

So if it isn’t liver disease, cancer, or Alzheimer’s, what is it? Another form of dementia, perhaps? Maybe one that might sound heartbreakingly familiar in a different way?

When actor and comedian Robin Williams died suddenly in August 2014, it was eventually revealed that he’d been living with something called Lewy Body dementia, a neurological condition that causes issues with alertness and memory and gets worse as it progresses.

It’s possible — though obviously yet to be confirmed — Richard suffers from this condition.

Lewy Body dementia often features realistic, detailed hallucinations, tremors, delusions, and the level of confusion associated with other types of dementia. So far, we’ve seen Richard display many of these signs — possibly more of them than we picked up on throughout the season.

A few episodes ago, Bailey mentioned Richard’s mood changes looked a lot like depression, which is also a known symptom of the illness.

We’re all glad he decided to stop operating as soon as he realized something was wrong. As painful as his speech was to watch, imagine what could have happened if he’d been operating on a patient in that mindset.

At the moment, as tragic as it may be, his life is the only one in danger. The best team of doctors in Seattle can focus their attention on trying to diagnose and treat whatever is going on with him.

Of course, we’re going to have to wait at least a week — if not two or many more, depending on how the next few episodes turn out — to even rule out some of the possibilities mentioned above.

We might not have Derek Shepherd on the case this time. But we do have another brain surgeon that might be able to make some calls.

What do you think we’ll find out about Richard’s condition next episode? Do you have any theories about what’s going on?