Actor Eric Dane was diagnosed with ALS in April. The Grey’s Anatomy star has been very outspoken about the disease and revealed how the first symptoms showed. Now, his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has revealed new details about her husband’s ALS, and when she first noticed things weren’t as usual.
Eric Dane was diagnosed with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in April this year. In a statement to People Magazine at the time, he said, “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,”.
The former Grey’s Anatomy star called ALS “nasty” in an October interview. He was set to appear at their reunion at the Emmy Awards, but sadly, Dane had to cancel after a bad fall that hospitalized him.
“ALS is a nasty disease,” he said. “So I was in the hospital during the Emmys getting stitches put in my head.”
In June, while appearing on Good Morning America, he 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.”
Eric Dane’s wife Rebecca Gayheart shares ALS update
The actor continued, “I went and saw a neurologist and they sent me to another neurologist and said this is way above [his] pay grade.”
The search for answers took nine months. Then, Dane was diagnosed with ALS. A year after he had noticed the first symptoms, the 52-year-old said, “I have one functioning arm, my dominant side is [my right], my left side is functioning, my right side is completely stopped working.”
Dane concluded. “My left arm is going, I feel like a couple few more months and I wont have my left either, it is sobering.”
Eric Dane has the full support of his family in his ALS battle. In late October, he was seen out with his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, and daughter Georgia. Dane, sitting in a wheelchair, was with his wife and 13-year-old daughter at a sushi restaurant in West Hollywood. The couple also has a 15-year-old daughter, Billie.
It’s been quiet around Dane for some months. But now, in an essay for The Cult, his wife, Rebecca, has given an update on the care Eric receives.
She explained that his symptoms “started maybe a year prior.” She explained that when eating with the kids, he said things like, “Something’s wrong with my hand.”
“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. And I was like, ‘No, it’s not. I promise you it’s not. I can feel this! It’s gonna be okay.” Rebecca wrote.
Eric Dane receives 24/7 care
While Eric Dane receives 24/7 care, his wife states that the past year has not been easy.
“Just figuring out the health-care system is its own thing — the health-insurance company will deny you what you’re asking for and you have to appeal and then you have to apply again,” she continued in her The Cult piece, describing how one week is divided into 21 shifts.
“There are times that shifts aren’t covered, so I cover them. There was a 12-hour shift recently that I could not cover. I could only do four hours because of all the stuff that the kids are doing.”
Rebecca concluded, “So I had to call on two of Eric’s friends, one of them who had never really taken care of him in that way. I thought, ‘I can’t believe I had to ask someone to do this.’ And of course, when I asked for help, they said, ‘Yeah, anything, what do you need? What’s going on?’ And they both showed up and did a wonderful job.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Eric Dane and his family.
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