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In April, Eric Dane revealed his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. During a recent appearance on Good Morning America, the actor detailed the progression of the rare degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. “My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working,” Dane said. “I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”
Dane first began experiencing symptoms more than a year ago. He initially noticed that his right hand was weak, but contributed the change to other factors. “I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” he said. “I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued, but a few weeks later I noticed it got a little worse.” His first visit to a specialist to address the development kicked off a testing process that lasted nine months.
“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,’” Dane said. Now, with only “one functioning arm,” the Euphoria actor is concerned that the disease might target his legs next.
His worry mounted during a recent outing with his daughter during which he needed to be rescued from the water. “She dragged me back to the boat,” Dane said, recalling the moment when it became clear he didn’t have enough energy to continue swimming. “I was like, breaking down in tears. I made sure she got back to the water with her friend and continued on with the snorkeling. I was just heartbroken.”
Growing emotional, Dane also expressed concern about the possibility that he won’t be able to continue watching his two teenage daughters grow up. “I’m angry because 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 when they’re very young,” he said.
ALS has not fully physically consumed Dane, but the reality of the condition, which does not yet have a cure, has taken root mentally. “I will never forget those three letters,” he said about how his life changed when his diagnosis was issued. “It’s on me the second I wake up. It’s not a dream.” Still, he is committed to persevering. The actor recently returned to the set of Euphoria and will appear in the Prime Video series Countdown, out June 25.
“In my heart, I don’t feel like this is the end for me,” Dane said. “I’m fighting as much as I can. There’s so much about it that’s out of my control.”
