Eric Dane shares his "right side has completely stopped working" amid ALS diagnosis

Eric Dane is speaking out about his “sobering” experience with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Grey’s Anatomy alum first shared his diagnosis in April, writing at the time that he felt “fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set [sic] of Euphoria next week.” 

Now, the disease has progressed to the point where the actor’s “left side is functioning, [but] my right side has completely stopped working,” as he shared in an emotional interview with Good Morning America this week. Now, he says he only has “one functioning arm… [and] I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either.” 

Dane said his symptoms began over a year ago, when he first started to notice weakness in his hand. “I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued,” he said. “But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse.” He ended up seeing a series of doctors, hand specialists, and neurologists, who eventually diagnosed him with ALS. “I’ll never forget those three letters,” he said.

ALS is a neurological disease that affects motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing, per the National Institute of Health. As the nerves deteriorate, the brain progressively loses the ability to send signals that control functions like walking, eating, and breathing. The disease gets worse over time.