The primary time Eric Dane seen his ALS signs was when he immediately started struggling to make use of chopsticks at dinner along with his household.
“I’m consuming sushi with my children and immediately I can’t work the chopsticks with my proper hand. My hand tingles, after which my fingers really feel numb,” Dane wrote in an excerpt of his posthumous memoir, “My E-book of Days,” obtained by Folks, recalling the primary signal of the illness he seen on Jan. 7, 2024.
The late “Gray’s Anatomy” actor — who publicly introduced his analysis a 12 months later in 2025 — stated that he initially thought it was “some form of bizarre nerve factor” and tried to “shake it off,” figuring he was “most likely texting an excessive amount of.”
“Three weeks later, it occurs once more, solely worse. I can’t grip the chopsticks in any respect,” he wrote.
Based on his memoir, the second episode marked the start of a nine-month interval of “looking for solutions” earlier than Dane was recognized with ALS by Dr. Mark Terrelonge, affiliate program director of neurology residency on the College of California, San Francisco.
“I’ve been recognized with ALS. I’m grateful to have my loving household by my facet as we navigate this subsequent chapter. … I kindly ask that you just give my household and I privateness throughout this time,” Dane introduced in 2025.
On the time, he additionally revealed that he would reprise his function as Cal Jacobs within the third season of “Euphoria.”
He made his first posthumous look within the HBO collection’ second episode, which aired April 19, two months after his dying on Feb. 19 at age 53 following his battle with ALS.
Throughout a June 16, 2025, look on “Good Morning America,” Dane mentioned the primary symptom he skilled earlier than his analysis, saying, “I began experiencing some weak point in my proper hand, and I didn’t actually assume something of it on the time.
He defined that he thought he “had been texting an excessive amount of” or that his “hand was fatigued,” however “just a few weeks later” he seen it “had gotten a little bit worse.”
On the time, Dane additionally revealed that his dominant proper arm had “fully stopped working.”
When Diane Sawyer, now 80, requested whether or not his left arm was “high quality,” he replied, “No, it’s going,” including that he felt he had solely “just a few extra months” of use left.
Elsewhere in his memoir, set to be launched Nov. 3, Dane described how his youngest daughter, Georgia, and a good friend needed to save him from drowning whereas on trip.
He stated that he referred to as his estranged spouse, Rebecca Gayheart, and instructed her, “I can’t swim, Rebecca. … I can’t swim.”
“She explodes into tears, and I weep together with her. We cry collectively. Lastly, the tears gradual, turn out to be diminished to gasps, and once we’re each cried out, Rebecca says, ‘I used to be afraid of today. I knew it could come. I’ve been dreading it,” Dane wrote.
He additionally detailed the devastating name he made to Gayheart to disclose his analysis.
