Eric Dane finally revealed the reason he missed out on the “Grey’s Anatomy” reunion at this year’s Emmy Awards was because he suffered a terrifying fall that left him hospitalized.
“ALS is a nasty disease,” Dane, who announced he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in April, told the Washington Post Thursday.
“So I was in the hospital during the Emmys getting stitches put in my head,” he shared, adding that he was “really upset” about not being present for the moment.
However, he also recognized that “there was nothing I could do about it.”
Dane, 52, was originally slated to appear at the awards show as a presenter alongside his former “Grey’s” co-star Jesse Williams in honor of the medical drama’s 20th anniversary.
“I missed an opportunity I was really looking forward to,” the actor, who portrayed Dr. Mark Sloane on the series, told the outlet.
“It would have been great to see Jesse and get reunited with some of my peers, and to be able to present in front of my colleagues, I thought, would have been a special moment.”
Williams wound up presenting the award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series without any mention of Dane or the hit ABC series.
Though, he did gush about his longtime friend while on the red carpet before the show.
“He’s solid. The man’s just solid, and we have to be careful, you know, as men to still, you know, take care of ourselves and he’s got a perfect balance going,” Williams told Entertainment Tonight, calling Dane “my guy.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS “is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,” leading to “loss of muscle control” and progresses over time.
In June, the “Euphoria” star revealed that he was diagnosed with the disease after he “started experiencing some weakness in my right hand.”
“I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” the actor explained to Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America.”
“I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was fatigued. But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse.”
Still, Dane isn’t letting the disease get him down, according to a source.
“He wants to enjoy what he has now because he now knows with his full heart that tomorrow isn’t promised,” the insider told Daily Mail Tuesday.
“He wants to live life and he doesn’t want people grieving him or for him while he is going through this terrible disease, he just wants the people in his life to be present and as happy as they can be, he wants to always surround himself with positivity, that is a major thing that is driving him nowadays,” the source added.
