Actor Eric Dane is opening up about living with ALS.
In his firsttelevision interviewsincerevealinghe hasamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Dane, 52, recalled the symptoms that led to discovering his diagnosis about a year and a half ago.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand,” Dane told “Good Morning America.” “I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was fatigued. A few weeks later I noticed it had gotten a little worse, so I went and saw a hand specialist who sent me to another hand specialist. I went and saw a neurologist who sent me to another neurologist who said this is way above my pay grade.”
ALSprogressively affects the nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord that make the muscles of both the upper and lower body work, according to the ALS Association, a non-profit organization which works to research the disease and offer resources to people living with it. There is currently no known cure.
“I will never forget those three letters. It’s on me the second I wake up,” Dane told ABC.
Dane said his right arm and hand have “completely stopped working.”
“I feel like maybe a couple, few more months, and I won’t have my left hand [functioning] either,” Dane said, adding that he’s worried about the eventual loss of his leg mobility he described as “sobering.”
Dane rose to fame as the handsome Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2006 - 2012. His credits also include film roles in movies like “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” More recently, Dane plays Cal Jacobs, the troubled father to Jacob Elordi’s character in the HBO drama “Euphoria.”
Dane shares two teen daughters with actress Rebecca Gayheart. They married in 2004 and though they separated for a time remain close.
“I talk to her every day,” Dane said of Gayheart. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents. And she is … probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter. And I lean on her.”
He said he is focused on his family and continuing to work as long as he can.
“At the end of the day, just, all I want to do is spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can,” he said, later adding, “I don’t think this is the end of my story. I just don’t feel like, in my heart, I don’t feel like this is the end of me.*