Patrick Dempsey Opens Up About Eric Dane’s ‘Courageous’ ALS Battle

Patrick Dempsey is opening up to Parade about his former “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star Eric Dane’s battle with ALS.

Dempsey shared, "I spoke to him a few weeks ago. I’ve been texting with him.”

Patrick went on, "It’s very hard for him, but I do try to stay in touch and see how he’s doing. I think he’s been incredibly courageous in the face of this horrible disease. He’s such a wonderful human being. He has such a great sense of humor, and he’s so intelligent. I’ve always enjoyed working and being around Eric.”

He shared, "It’s heartbreaking. It really is. For him and for his family. You feel for them when you see this terrible disease and how quickly it attacks the body. But he’s bringing a lot of light to that, and he’s using his platform in a positive way. I wish him the best. "

Patrick said he had hoped to get Eric on his new FOX show “Memory of a Killer,” but explained, “Unfortunately, the progression of his disease made it virtually impossible.”

Dempsey, however, said he was happy that Dane was able to do a guest role on “Brilliant Minds.”

Last weekend, Eric, 53, was unable to attend the ALS Network’s Champions for Cures and Care Gala where he was a top honoree.

Ahead of the event, the organization told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, “The ALS Network has been informed that Eric Dane had hoped to join us this evening to accept his Advocate of the Year Award, but due to the physical realities of ALS, he is not well enough to attend.”

Eric first shared his ALS diagnosis in April. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is an incurable, degenerative disease that progressively paralyzes a patient's muscles.

At the time, he told Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America," “My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working,” adding, “I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”

In December, Dane participated in a virtual panel for Giving Tuesday with I AM ALS and Synapticure co-founders Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya, as well as “Brilliant Minds” show runner Michael Grassi and writer and consulting producer Dr. Daniela Lamas, M.D.

On “Brilliant Minds,” Dane played a firefighter with ALS, who struggles to tell his loved ones about his diagnosis.

According to People magazine, Dane opened up about keeping his spirits up despite facing such a “horrible” disease.

"I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day, I don't think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying," he said. "And I was a little bit pleasantly surprised when I realized that I wasn't built like that, because I thought for sure that was gonna be me.”

He was encouraged to know that he could have a “buoyant spirit in the face of something so horrible.”

Eric also insisted, “It's imperative that I share my journey with as many people as I can because I don't feel like my life is about me anymore.”