Eric Dane Reveals Why His ALS Diagnosis Makes Him 'Angry' as a Dad of 2 Teenage Girls

Yahoo

4 hours ago

Eric Dane is sharing what makes him angriest about his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis.
In his first sit-down television interview after revealing he has ALS, the Grey's Anatomy alum, 52, was asked by Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America what makes him angry about his diagnosis. "I don't think this is the end of my story," Dane says.
"I just don't feel like, in my heart, I don't feel like this is the end of me," he continues. "I'm fighting as much as I can. There's so much about it that's out of my control."
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Sawyer then asks how angry the illness makes him.
"Very angry. I'm angry because my father was taken from me when I was young," Dane says. "And now there's a very good chance I'm going to be taken from my girls while they are very young. I mean, I really at the end of the day just all I want to do is spend time with my family and work a little bit, if I can."
"And make sure that you tell them that you love them," Sawyer tells the actor.
"Every day. Every day. They're loved. They know it," Dane says.
Dane shares his daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13, with wife Rebecca Gayheart.
In April, the actor told PEOPLE exclusively that he'd been diagnosed with the incurable disease. "I have been diagnosed with ALS,' he shared at the time. 'I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.'
'I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week,' he told PEOPLE. 'I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.'
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.
Read the original article on People