Eric Dane Has No Plans to Quit Working amid ALS Diagnosis: ‘Ride This ‘Til the Wheels Come Off’
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Dane — who revealed his ALS diagnosis exclusively with PEOPLE in April — detailed some of those setbacks during his first sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America.
A year and a half since his symptoms began, the Countdown star said he’s lost control of his right arm, and he’s concerned about losing mobility elsewhere.
“I have one functioning arm. My dominant side. My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working,” he shared, noting that function on his left side is slowly deteriorating. “It’s going. I feel like maybe a couple, few more months, and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”
He added that although he’s able to walk right now, “I’m worried about my legs.”
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Despite the change in his health, Dane returned to filming season 3 of Euphoria just days after sharing his diagnosis.
In his emotional interview, the Grey’s Anatomy alum told Sawyer, “I don’t think this is the end of my story. I don’t feel like this is the end of me.”
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech. According to the Mayo Clinic, because the disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, patients slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk, and breathe independently.
There’s no cure for ALS, and people usually live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. However, some patients can live decades.
