San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is opening up about fatherhood.
Eric Dane has his wife to thank for the around-the-clock care he’s receiving amid his ALS battle.
The 53-year-old “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Charmed” and “Euphoria” actor revealed in April that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The announcement came one month after his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, requested to dismiss their divorce, which was filed in 2018.
Now eight months later, Gayheart is providing an update on Dane’s health in a personal essay published in “The Cut” on Dec. 29.
READ MORE: Eric Dane's Wife Discusses Her 'Super Complicated' Relationship With the Actor Amid ALS Battle
In the essay, Gayheart opened up about the frustration she endured while trying to secure 24/7 care for her husband as his diagnosis worsens.
“Just figuring out the health-care system is its own thing — the health-insurance company will deny you what you’re asking for and you have to appeal and then you have to apply again,” she wrote.
“With the nurses, the woman from his insurance said to me, ‘You can keep applying, and I’ll keep denying, I was like, ‘Oh? F that.’ I made it my mission. I was ‘locked in,’” she added.
Gayheart had to appeal the process twice, but eventually got it approved.
“He has 24/7 nurses now,” she confirmed.
Gayheart went on to explain that Dane’s care is divided into 21 shifts. While the nurses are there for most of them, Dane has had to lean on his wife — and a few friends — to help when shifts aren’t covered.
“There was a 12-hour shift recently that I could not cover. I could only do four hours because of all the stuff that the kids are doing,” she wrote in the essay.
“I had to call on two of Eric’s friends, one of them who had never really taken care of him in that way. I thought, ‘I can’t believe I had to ask someone to do this,’” she added.
It was a tall ask, but Gayheart said they showed up without hesitation “and did a wonderful job.”
Eric Dane’s ALS diagnosis has brought his family closer together
Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart started dating in 2003 and tied the knot in 2004 before welcoming two daughters — Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14 — into the family in 2010 and 2011, according to Us Weekly.
Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018 after 14 years of marriage, but requested to dismiss the divorce in March, per People.
In her essay, Gayheart recalled the moment she learned of Dane’s diagnosis — and the moment her and Eric Dane’s daughters found out one week later.
READ MORE: Eric Dane says he's 'angry' over the 'very good chance' he will be taken from his young daughters
"It didn’t feel real because he was still okay," she wrote — adding that she “didn’t know all the details like I do now,” but she “knew enough about ALS to know that there wasn’t a cure.”
When it came time to tell their daughters, they gave them an opportunity to speak with Dane’s doctor — who Gayheart says is “available at all times” to help answer questions that she and Dane can’t answer.
Despite the diagnosis, Gayheart describes the past year as “really positive” for the family.
“I think it’s nice for the kids to see maybe a softer side of us," she wrote.
"It’s not that they have the hopes of us being together — kids always dream of their parents getting back together, and I think now ours don’t because they understand the reality of the situation,” she added.
ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: Eric Dane’s wife Rebecca Gayheart says their daughters are ‘suffering’ after actor’s ALS diagnosis
Gayheart went on to say that she hopes her daughters see “two adults who are trying to be mature and focus on what’s important.”
