Eric Dane shared an emotional story about his teenage daughter saving him in the ocean amid his battle with ALS.
During a Monday, June 16, sit-down with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, Dane, 52, recalled going on a boat trip with his 13-year-old daughter, Georgia. “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,’” he said. “And I realized in that moment I’m not safe in the water anymore.”
Dane’s youngest had to jump in to help him.
“[My daughter] dragged me back to the boat. I was breaking down in tears,” he continued. “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.”
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Dane shares daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia with wife Rebecca Gayheart. (The twosome, who wed in 2004, split in 2018 but have since called off their divorce. On Monday, Dane said the pair “have managed to become better friends and better parents.”) Dane announced his ongoing health battle in April.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” Dane said in a statement. “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.”
The statement continued: “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
Dane elaborated on how he realized he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which causes muscle control while affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
“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,” Dane explained 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.’”
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It took nearly a year for Dane to receive his diagnosis. “I will never forget those three letters, [ALS]. It’s on me the second I wake up,” he said. “It’s not a dream.”
He continued: “I have one functioning arm. … My left side is functioning. My right side, [which is my dominant side], has completely stopped working. [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 admitted he felt “angry” in the months since, adding, “Very. I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young. And now there’s a very good chance that I’ll be taken from my girls when they’re very young. I mean I really, at the end of the day, all I want is to just spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can.”
