Eric Dane’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, says the couple’s two daughters are “taking it day by day” amid his ALS battle.
“We have some professional therapists who are helping us, and we’re just trying to have some hope and do it with dignity, grace and love,” Gayheart, 54, told People in an interview published on Saturday, September 27. “I mean, it’s heartbreaking. My girls are really suffering, and we’re just trying to get through it. It’s a tough time.”
Gayheart shares daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13, with the 52-year-old Grey’s Anatomy alum, who confirmed his diagnosis in April.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” he said in a statement. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
Dane offered further insight into his health battle during a June appearance on Good Morning America.
“I wake up every day and I’m immediately reminded that this is happening,” he told Diane Sawyer. “It’s not a dream. I don’t think this is the end of my story. I don’t feel like this is the end of me.”
At the time, Dane revealed how he discovered his illness.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand. And I didn’t really think anything of it at the time, I thought maybe I’d been texting too much and my hand was fatigued,” he recalled on GMA. “A few weeks later, I noticed it’d gotten a little worse. 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’s illness has since progressed, and he’s beginning to lose movement in his limbs.
“I have one functioning arm. … My left side is functioning. My right side, [which is my dominant side], has completely stopped working,” he said. “[My left arm] is going. I feel like maybe a couple, a few more months and I won’t have my left. … I’m worried about my legs.”
Dane further praised his family’s support, revealing on the broadcast that Georgia once had to help him swim in the ocean after his arm went numb.
“When I jumped into the ocean that day and realized I couldn’t swim and generate enough power to get myself back to the boat. I thought, ‘Oh God,’” the Euphoria star said. “And I realized in that moment, I’m not safe in the water anymore. [My daughter] dragged me back to the boat. I was breaking down in tears.”
He added, “So I made sure she got back in the water with her friend and continued on with the snorkeling with the guide. But I was just heartbroken.”
Dane shared another health update earlier this month, addressing his diagnosis in a call for ALS funding.
“I’m Eric. An actor, a father and now a person living with ALS,” he said in video footage. “For over a century, ALS has been incurable, and we’re done accepting the status quo. We need the fastest path to a cure and that’s why I partnered with I AM ALS on the Push for Progress. Our goal? A billion dollars over the next three years. Together, we’ll renew the landmark law ACT for ALS, get promising treatments to thousands of patients like me. And finally, finally push towards ending this disease.”
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