Rebecca Gayheart has opened up about her final moments with Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane. As reported by People, she opened up in an interview on the Today show, where she was promoting his posthumous memoir, My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments.
There, she opened up about his final trip to the hospital. "He had gone to the hospital so many times before, and they would patch him up, so to speak, and he would come home, and he'd be okay, and we'd go back to the normal routine, which did change week by week," she explained.
Of course, as this was his last trip, that wouldn't be the case. But, that's not something Gayheart nor their daughters, 16 year old Billie and 14 year old Georgia, knew at the time. She explained they'd "never ever anticipated" his passing in February.
He tragically passed away from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on February 19. "I had no idea that that was it, that that week was going to be our last week," she revealed. "And nor did my daughters. It really took a few days for us to understand the gravity of what that last trip to the hospital meant."
She said that she'd expected to "be back" from the hospital when she first went with the Grey's Anatomy star.
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She Explained How "Everything Shifted" After the 'Grey's Anatomy' Star Spent Days in the Hospital
It took three days for things in the hospital to shift. "The tone of when the doctors were talking to" them shifted - "everything shifted," she recalled.
"He was fully aware it was shifting, and he was still communicating with us," she explained. "Not well verbally, but I could understand him most of the time. The kids could most of the time [too]."
"But I remember the moment Eric decided to make some choices, and he did. He was in control of the way he was going to leave," she continued.
And, of course, they really wanted to make sure that they were there for him in his final moments. They "camped out there with him" and made it a little paradise in the hospital room for him. She revealed they played the Grey's Anatomy star's favorite music, and even brought battery-operated candles!
May he rest in peace.
