The first time Eric Dane noticed his ALS symptoms was when he suddenly began struggling to use chopsticks at dinner with his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m eating sushi with my kids and suddenly I can\u2019t work the chopsticks with my right hand. My hand tingles, and then my fingers feel numb,\u201d Dane wrote in an excerpt of his posthumous memoir, \u201cMy Book of Days,\u201d<\/a> obtained by People<\/a>, recalling the first sign of the disease he noticed on Jan. 7, 2024.<\/p>\n The late \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d actor \u2014 who publicly announced his diagnosis<\/a> a year later in 2025 \u2014 said that he initially thought it was \u201csome kind of weird nerve thing\u201d and tried to \u201cshake it off,\u201d figuring he was \u201cprobably texting too much.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Dane (pictured above during his episode of \u201cFamous Last Words\u201d) recalled struggling to use chopsticks more than a year before publicly announcing his ALS diagnosis in his posthumous memoir, \u201cMy Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments.\u201d Netflix<\/p>\n Dane wrote that he suddenly struggled to use chopsticks with his right hand while eating sushi with his kids, but initially thought it was \u201csome kind of weird nerve thing\u201d and figured he was \u201cprobably texting too much.\u201d (The cover of Dane\u2019s posthumous memoir is seen above.) The Open Field<\/p>\n \u201cThree weeks later, it happens again, only worse. I can\u2019t grip the chopsticks at all,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n According to his memoir, the second episode marked the beginning of a nine-month period of \u201csearching for answers\u201d before Dane was diagnosed with ALS by Dr. Mark Terrelonge, associate program director of neurology residency at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been diagnosed with ALS. I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter. \u2026 I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time,\u201d Dane announced in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThree weeks later, it happens again, only worse. I can\u2019t grip the chopsticks at all,\u201d Dane wrote, describing the second episode as the beginning of a nine-month period of \u201csearching for answers\u201d before he was diagnosed with ALS. (Dane is pictured above at the St. Regis in Washington, D.C., in September 2025.) The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n Dane publicly announced his diagnosis on April 10, 2025, telling People in part, \u201cI am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.\u201d (Dane is seen above speaking about his diagnosis at a news conference in Washington, D.C., in June 2025.) AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n At the time, he also revealed that he would reprise his role as Cal Jacobs in the third season of \u201cEuphoria.\u201d<\/p>\n He made his first posthumous appearance<\/a> in the HBO series\u2019 second episode, which aired April 19, two months after his death on Feb. 19 at age 53<\/a> following his battle with ALS.<\/p>\n During a June 16, 2025, appearance on \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d Dane discussed the first symptom he experienced before his diagnosis<\/a>, saying, \u201cI started experiencing some weakness in my right hand, and I didn\u2019t really think anything of it at the time.<\/p>\n Dane (pictured above on the \u201cToday\u201d show in 2024) also revealed that he would reprise his role as Cal Jacobs in the third season of \u201cEuphoria,\u201d making his first posthumous appearance in the series\u2019 second episode two months after his death on Feb. 19. Nathan Congleton\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Dane previously discussed the first symptom he experiened before his diagnosis during a June 2025 appearance on \u201cGood Morning America\u201d (seen above). GMA<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n He explained that he thought he \u201chad been texting too much\u201d or that his \u201chand was fatigued,\u201d but \u201ca few weeks later\u201d he noticed it \u201chad gotten a little worse.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Dane also revealed that his dominant right arm had \u201ccompletely stopped working.\u201d<\/p>\n When Diane Sawyer, now 80, asked whether his left arm was \u201cfine,\u201d he replied, \u201cNo, it\u2019s going,\u201d adding that he felt he had only \u201ca few more months\u201d of use left.<\/p>\n Dane told Diane Sawyer (pictured above) that he \u201cstarted experiencing some weakness in my right hand\u201d and \u201cdidn\u2019t really think anything of it at the time,\u201d adding that his dominant right arm had since \u201ccompletely stopped working.\u201d GMA<\/p>\n Elsewhere in his memoir, Dane described how his youngest daughter, Georgia (seen above with her dad and sister Billie), had to save him from drowning while they were on vacation because he could no longer swim. FilmMagic<\/p>\n Elsewhere in his memoir, set to be released Nov. 3<\/a>, Dane described how his youngest daughter, Georgia<\/a>, and a friend had to save him from drowning<\/a> while on vacation.<\/p>\n He said that he called his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, and told her, \u201cI can\u2019t swim, Rebecca. \u2026 I can\u2019t swim.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe explodes into tears, and I weep with her. We cry together. Finally, the tears slow, become reduced to gasps, and when we\u2019re both cried out, Rebecca says, \u2018I was afraid of this day. I knew it would come. I\u2019ve been dreading it,\u201d Dane wrote.<\/p>\n