Eric Dane tried to ‘shake’ off this early ALS symptom before diagnosis
Eric Dane in April 2022Credit: Momodu Mansaray/GettyKey Points
The late Eric Dane wrote about his first ALS symptoms in his upcoming memoir, My Book of Days.
Dane died from the disease in February. He was 53.
The Grey’s Anatomy star was vocal about his diagnosis in his last months, noting that it was important for him to help others.
Late actor Eric Dane recalls in his new book that he tried to “shake it off” when he felt his first symptoms of ALS.
“I’m eating sushi with my kids and suddenly I can’t work the chopsticks with my right hand,” Dane wrote in an excerpt of his posthumous memoir, My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments, obtained by PEOPLE, “and then my fingers feel numb.”
Dane, who was known for his work on Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy, died Feb. 19. He was 53.
Though his reaction was to “shake it off,” thinking that it might be from overuse, “probably texting too much,” he couldn’t.
“Three weeks later, it happens again, only worse,” Dane recalled. “I can’t grip the chopsticks at all.”
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That’s when Dane consulted San Francisco neurologist Dr. Mark Terrelonge. He called his patient immediately after meeting with him with news that it was “what we feared.”
“I don’t remember a single word I said after that,” the actor continued. “I remember only feeling a violent impact, like getting the wind knocked out of me, and Rebecca wailing on the other end of the phone, and then I really lose it, and my sobs make my body shudder, and I hear her words pouring out amid her tears, ‘I’m here, we’ll fight this together, I’m not going anywhere.’”
Rebecca Gayheart, an actress who’s appeared in movies including Jawbreaker, Urban Legend, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, married Dane in 2004. They shared two daughters: Billie, 16, and Georgia, who’s 14.
Though Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018, she dismissed her filing in March 2025.
Dane revealed that he’d been diagnosed with the disease, which is officially called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in April 2025.
At the time, he also told PEOPLE. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
Eric Dane with his daughters on May 30, 2024Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Dane was vocal about his experience, in the hopes that it might help others.
“I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day,” the ambassador for nonprofit advocacy organization I AM ALS said in December. “I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying.”
He continued, “I think it’s imperative that I share my journey with as many people as I can because I don’t feel like my life is about me anymore. And it’s something I’ve had to wrestle with because I’m a pretty selfish person, and I’d love for my life to be all about me, but I just can’t — I don’t think I’d be able to move forward if that were the case.”
My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments comes out Nov. 3.
Source: Entertainment
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