Eric Dane wrote that he spent months seeking answers after gradually losing the use of his right hand, before doctors diagnosed him with ALS. The account appears in his posthumous book, released Tuesday, according to the supplied report.
Dane recalled being referred from a hand specialist to a neurologist, who suspected neuropathy but sent him to another doctor. After a series of tests, including an electromyography test, his medical team reached a consensus that he had multifocal motor neuropathy, which he described as a rare autoimmune disorder causing severe muscle weakness.
The treatment was said to be 90 percent effective, but Dane did not respond. His primary care doctor then told him that ALS was being considered, though they would need to wait and see. Dane later underwent a lumbar puncture and brain scans.
He said he received his ALS diagnosis nine months later, in 2024, and described the disease in his book as a “death sentence.” He made his diagnosis public in April of the following year.
Dane also recounted telling his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, that the diagnosis was what they had feared. Gayheart said last month that the news felt like a “punch to the gut,” and told People she would promise to look after and protect their daughters, Billie and Georgia. Dane died in February at 53; he and Gayheart had two daughters, aged 16 and 14, according to the report.
Sources: Page Six.