Actor Russell Andrews has announced that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“I’m a person living with ALS,” the “Better Call Saul” actor revealed on CNN’s “The Story Is With Elex Michaelson” on Saturday with his fiancée Erika Tazel.
The Mayo Clinic added that he was “diagnosed late last fall” for the neurological disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Andrews, 64, said he and Tazel have found a great community within the nonprofit ALS Network.
“And while it was humbling, there’s also something about…Elex, the fact that I’m stepping into a family of very caring people, a cliché family, that I didn’t know a year ago. But they didn’t miss a beat in terms of care, attention, awareness, and ability to get me here today,” the “Straight Outta Compton” star added.
Andrews said she started noticing symptoms during the coronavirus pandemic and initially thought it was a stroke.
“It was a stressful time. We hadn’t worked for about three years and then there were strikes back to back and so many things happened,” he said of the 2023 actors’ strike.
“I couldn’t do the things I normally do. I would drop cups and glasses at night. Sometimes it felt like something was running up and down my arm. It was nerves,” Andrews recalled, adding that she sometimes felt “cramps.”
Tazel said she knew something was wrong when her fiancé took the time to clean the pool.
“The way he walked, there were subtle little things like that that made me question it. I thought, ‘Something is obviously wrong,'” the “Justified” actress, 49, said.
Andrews said she briefly lost insurance during the strike, but as soon as she got it back, she went to see a doctor.
“Within 15 minutes, my doctor (physician) asked me to see a neurologist,” he recalled. “One thing led to another.”
Despite there being no cure for Andrews’ diagnosis, Tazel, who has become the actor’s caretaker, is still open to exchanging vows.
“[There was]no sigh of relief, but I kind of understood what was going on. And I looked across the room at him and said, ‘At least now I know what it is. I still want to be your wife,'” she recalled.
