Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane’s wife made a painful disclosure about their family after his ALS diagnosis.

Dane announced in April that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease that damages nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and worsens with time, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“I’ve been diagnosed with ALS. “I’m grateful to have my loving family by my side as we embark on this next chapter,” the actor told People.

ALS disrupts muscular control, which begins with modest symptoms such as twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, or difficulties swallowing or speaking, before gradually weakening the muscles required to move, talk, eat, and breathe over time.

According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the condition is deadly and incurable, with patients living just three to five years after being diagnosed.

According to the Mirror, Dane’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, claimed at Step Up’s 2025 Inspiration Awards that she and the couple’s two daughters, Billie, 15, and 13-year-old Georgia, are ‘trying to get through it’ and adjusting to their ‘new normal’ in life.

Rebecca said, “We have some professional therapists who are assisting us, and we’re just trying to have some hope while doing it with dignity, grace, and compassion. I mean, that is heartbreaking. My daughters are truly hurting, and we’re simply trying to get through it. It’s a difficult moment.”

Dane spoke on Good Morning America in June, when he shared the initial indicators that had him concerned about his health.

“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand, and I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” he told me.

The 52-year-old said, “I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was worn out.

“But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse, so I went and saw a hand specialist, and he sent me to another hand specialist.” I went to see a neurologist, and they sent me to another doctor, saying it was much above [his] pay grade.

A year after the first symptoms, Dane said, “I have one functioning arm; my dominant side is [my right], my left side is functioning, and my right side has entirely ceased working.

“My left arm is going; I feel like in a couple few more months I won’t have my left either. It is sobering.”