Eric Dane shared an emotional update on his recent ALS diagnosis while appearing on Good Morning America.
Dane, 52, sat down with Diane Sawyer for an interview that aired on Monday, June 16, sharing insight into how he first noticed things seemed off.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand. And I didn’t really think anything of it at the time, I thought maybe I’d been texting too much and my hand was fatigued,” he recalled. “A few weeks later, I noticed it’d gotten a little worse. I went and saw a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist. I went and saw a neurologist, and the neurologist sent me to another neurologist and said, ‘This is way above my pay grade.’”
After nine months, he finally received his diagnosis. “I will never forget those three letters, [ALS]. It’s on me the second I wake up,” he said. “It’s not a dream.”
Now, Dane’s illness has progressed to a point where he’s losing function of his limbs. “I have one functioning arm. … My left side is functioning. My right side, [which is my dominant side], has completely stopped working,” he revealed. “[My left arm] is going. I feel like maybe a couple, a few more months and I won’t have my left. … I’m worried about my legs.”
Ahead of the sit-down’s release, GMA shared a snippet of the pair’s conversation on Thursday, June 12 in which the Euphoria star got emotional while speaking to Sawyer.
“I wake up every day and I’m immediately reminded that this is happening,” he said in the preview posted on GMA’s Facebook account.
Sawyer and Dane agreed that the actor’s health struggle was “not a dream.”
“I don’t think this is the end of my story. I don’t feel like this is the end of me,” he said.
Earlier this year, Dane revealed that he has been diagnosed with ALS.
“I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,” he said in an April statement to People. “I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
ALS, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, per the Mayo Clinic. It can cause loss of muscle control and gets worse over time.
Before Dane publicly announced his condition, his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, called off their divorce. Dane and Gayheart, 53, tied the knot in 2004 and share two children, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13. In 2018, Gayheart filed for divorce from Dane, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. In March, she requested to dismiss her divorce from Dane. They both signed off on the docs.
After Dane went public with his diagnosis he and Gayheart were spotted together in May outside a restaurant in West Hollywood, California.
Speaking about his family on Monday, Dane revealed that Gayheart is the first person he calls when feeling low. “I talk to her every day,” he said, tearing up. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents and she is my — probably my biggest champion. My most stalwart supporter. And I lean on her.”
As his health battle continues, Dane is focused on his family. “I’m fighting as much as I can. There’s so much about it that’s out of my control,” he concluded. “I’m angry because, you know, my father was taken from me when I was young and now there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young. At the end of the day, all I want to do is spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can. … They’re loved. They know it.”
