Beloved actor Eric Dane passed away last week after battling ALS. He has been very outspoken about what life with the horrifying disease was like. Although he noticed symptoms quite early, his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, reveals she saw two specific signs that something was wrong with Eric already before he was diagnosed.
Eric Dane, known as the beloved Dr Mark Sloan, aka “McSteamy” on Grey’s Anatomy, passed away on February 19. He had undergone a 10-month-battle with AÖLS, which he was diagnosed with in April last year.
In a statement to People Magazine, Eric Dane’s family shared that the actor passed away on February 19. He is survived by his two daughters and wife Rebecca Gayheart.
“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” reads a statement from Dane’s family. “He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.”
Eric Dane has been very outspoken about his ALS disease. He’s devoted his time following the diagnosis to his daughters, but also to raise awareness and money for ALS research.
Eric Dane dead at 53
In June, while appearing on Good Morning America, the actor revealed the first symptoms he felt. In the beginning, however, he didn’t think much about it.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand, and I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” Eric Dane explained. “I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was fatigued. But a few weeks later I noticed it had gotten a little worse, so I went and saw a hand specialist, and he sent me to another hand specialist.”
Dane continued, “I went and saw a neurologist, and they sent me to another neurologist and said this is way above [his] pay grade.”
As soon as Eric Dane was diagnosed with ALS, he called his wife, Rebecca Gayheart. While they don’t live together, they are technically both married.
She had filed for diborce back in 2018 but shortly before Eric’s diagnosis became known to the poublic, she wihtdrew it. Appearing on the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen podcast, Gayheart explained the reason why the divorce never became a reality.
Gayheart explained that she wanted to be an example to her daughters, urging them to support others no matter what has happened.
“And he is our family, he is your father. We show up and we try to do it with some dignity and some grace and just get through it, and that we will get through it the best we can,” Gayheart said. “I mean, it’s super complicated for me.”
Eric Dane’s widow Rebecca Gayheart reveals early signs she noticed before his diagnosis
While Eric Dane noticed early symptoms, it appears that Rebecca Gayheart may have noticed them even earlier. In an essay for The Cut. Rebecca recalled how Eric showed early symptoms of ALS, such as struggling to use his chopsticks while eating and dropping food.
“His symptoms started maybe a year prior. When we would have a meal with the kids, he’d say things like, ‘Something’s wrong with my hand,’ ” she wrote. “He was struggling to use his chopsticks, dropping his food. That was when he started seeing doctors. He was initially diagnosed with a few other things, but he had this sinking feeling that it was something more serious.”
She was initially confident that it was nothing serious. Sadly, it was. explained what
“When he told me that day, he just started weeping, as did I,” Rebecca Gayheart recealled. “It didn’t feel real because he was still okay.”
She cotninued: “I was here at home with my youngest daughter — my home, that I share with just the girls, since Eric and I separated in September 2017 — and I’d gone into my closet to take the call, trying to be private. She was saying, ‘Mommy, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ I tried telling her, ‘Honey, nothing. Everything’s fine,’ because I couldn’t process it. I didn’t know all the details like I do now, but I knew enough about ALS to know that there wasn’t a cure.”
Rest in peace, Eric Dane. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
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