Rebecca Gayheart has spoken about Eric Dane’s final days as the late actor’s posthumous memoir, My Book of Days, is released. Dane died in February, less than a year after announcing his ALS diagnosis.
In an interview with Maria Shriver, excerpts of which aired on NBC’s Today, Gayheart said Dane had been hospitalized many times before and usually returned home after treatment. She initially expected his final hospital visit to follow the same pattern, telling him she would return after attending an event.
“I had no idea that that was it, that that week was going to be our last week,” Gayheart said. She added that it took a few days for her and the couple’s daughters to understand how serious the situation had become.
Gayheart recalled a change around the third day of Dane’s stay. The doctors’ tone and the information they shared made the gravity of his condition clearer, she said. Although Dane knew he was dying, Gayheart said she had not understood how quickly events would unfold, noting that ALS affects each patient differently.
She also described how Dane’s mental clarity increased as he lost physical abilities, a difficult change for their daughters to witness. The family spent nights with him in his hospital room, bringing battery-powered candles and playing his favorite music.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.