Eric Dane, who is most notably known for his performance in Grey’s Anatomy, has been in the headlines recently after tragically announcing that he’s been diagnosed with ALS. Now, he’s ready to talk about his experience with the disease thus far and how it’s already changed his life.
The actor recently sat down for an emotional interview with Diane Sawyer and had his first recorded conversation surrounding his ALS diagnosis. He opened up about the symptoms he had before getting the news, how his family is dealing with it, and how his disease will affect his future. Once the vulnerable chat aired, fans of his and other internet users rallied behind him and shared words of encouragement on social media. Read more about the tell-all interview below.
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Eric Dane Opens Up About His ALS Diagnosis In New Interview With Diane Sawyer
Last month, the Greys Anatomy performer made a statement for People magazine to announce that he had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at 52 years old. The disease has been a serious and destructive illness in the medical community for years, as scientists and medical experts still have yet to find a cure. It's known to affect the nervous system, causing loss of muscle control, and, according to the ALS Association, the average survival time is three years.
Eric is a father of two children and is still active in his acting career, so this was some bombshell news for the public. This week, his tell-all interview with famous journalist Diane Sawyer aired, where he gave her more insight as to how he found out about his diagnosis and how it's affecting his life and body today.
The Euphoria star told Diane that one of the first symptoms he had was experiencing "weakness" in his right hand, which he originally thought would be curable, but was eventually referred to a series of specialists when he couldn't get a solid answer as to what was happening.
"I didn't think anything of it," he explained. "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 of searching for answers on his muscle weakness, the dad of two received the world-shattering diagnosis.
"I will never forget those three letters," he said. "It's on me the second I wake up. It's not a dream."
Eric Opens Up About The State Of His Health And What The Future Holds
After going over what he went through to figure out his diagnosis, the 52-year-old told the journalist more about how his disease began taking over more of his body, which he said was "sobering."
He explained that his right arm has "completely stopped working," and that although his left arm is moving, he feels it "going" and believes it may be a matter of months before it also gives out. Now, his concern about losing the function of his legs grows more each day. Eric then opened up about how the disease and loss of strength are beginning to impact the time he spends with his kids, as he was recently on a boat trip with his daughter.
While he was an experienced swimmer in the past, the moment he hit the water on his latest outing, he realized he couldn't "generate enough power" to get himself back on the boat, and his 13-year-old daughter had to help him frantically.
"I was just heartbroken," he admitted.
Towards the end of his interview with Diane, Eric shared that in terms of his future, he plans to make the most out of every day he has.
"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," he said.
"I don't think this is the end of my story."
