Eric Dane’s Emotional ALS Battle: Right Arm Loss

For the first time ever, Eric Dane publicly spoke about how he’s physically doing two months after revealing he was diagnosed with the incurable degenerative neurological disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

‘I have one functioning arm. My left side is functioning. My right side, [which is my dominant side], has completely stopped working,’ the 52-year-old Grey’s Anatomy alum told GMA‘s Diane Sawyer on Monday.

‘[My left arm] is going. I feel like maybe a couple, a few more months and I won’t have my left hand either. Sobering. I’m worried about my legs.’

Eric first experienced weakness in his right hand one year ago, but he ‘thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued’ until a hand specialist eventually referred him to a neurologist.

Dane welcomed two daughters – Billie, 15; and Georgia, 13 – during his 14-year marriage to wife Rebecca Gayheart, who dismissed her divorce petition in March following seven years of estrangement.

‘I talk to her every day,’ the SAG Award winner emotionally said of the 53-year-old Jawbreaker alum.

‘We have managed to become better friends and better parents. And she is probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter. And I lean on her.’

A few months ago, Eric – a former competitive swimmer and water polo star – joined his youngest daughter on a boat trip, but when he jumped into the ocean he ‘realized I couldn’t swim and generate enough power to get myself back to the boat.’

‘She dragged me back to the boat,’ Dane recalled.

‘I was, like, breaking down in tears. So I made sure [Georgia] got back in the water with her friend and continued on with the snorkeling [excursion] with the guide. But I was just heartbroken.’

The San Francisco-born silver fox is ‘angry’ that ALS could take him from his children since he was only seven years old when his father William Melvin died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

‘I’m angry because, you know, my father was taken from me when I was young,’ Eric explained.

‘And now, you know, there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young.’

On average, ALS patients live two to five years following their first symptoms, but FDA-approved medications and physical/speech therapies might slow down the progression of the disorder.

‘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,’ Dane said.

‘I don’t think this is the end of my story. I just don’t feel like, in my heart, I don’t feel like this is the end of me.’

Audiences can next catch the Bad Boys: Ride or Die action star as Special Agent Nathan Blythe in Derek Haas’ new 13-episode crime drama Countdown, which premieres June 25 on Amazon Prime Video.

On April 14, Eric began reprising his role as the closeted real estate agent Cal Jacobs in the third season of HBO hit show Euphoria produced by and starring Zendaya as Ruby ‘Rue’ Bennett.

Sam Levinson’s drug-fueled drama will welcome newcomers Sharon Stone, Rosalía, Marshawn Lynch, and Kadeem Hardison in season three.

But Dane got his big break portraying plastic surgeon Mark ‘McSteamy’ Sloan from 2006–2012 on the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.