Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/em><\/a> star Katherine Heigl<\/a> is getting candid about the painful process of grieving her late costar, Eric Dane<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the actress behind Dr. Izzie Stevens shared an emotional tribute to Dane, who died at 53 on Thursday,<\/a> less than a year after going public about his struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.<\/p>\n In the raw post<\/a>, Heigl admitted that she struggled with whether or not to publicly discuss the loss, writing, “I debated this post for days. I have never been comfortable grieving publicly. I share my tears, my stories and my memories with those I\u2019m closest to and more times than not I share them only with the heavens alone.”<\/p>\n She continued, “But that silence can often look like a lack of care which I could not abide here.”<\/p>\n Jon Kopaloff\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Heigl went on to address Dane\u2019s wife and primary caretaker, Rebecca Gayheart, 54, as well as the former couple’s daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.<\/p>\n “Rebecca, Billie, Georgia… There is so little, if in fact anything, one can say about a tragic loss like yours,” Heigl wrote. “All the ‘I\u2019m sorries’ and ‘my prayers are with you’ ring a bit hollow in the midst of so much pain and grief. So I will say the only thing that has ever brought me peace when I\u2019ve lost someone I love.”<\/p>\n The actress then referred to Robert Frost\u2019s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” noting that she has the single verse tattooed on her body in her parents’ handwriting.<\/p>\n “Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf\u2019s a flower; but only so an hour,” she quoted. “Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so Dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.”<\/p>\n Heigl concluded, “I will never forget Eric\u2019s gold and I will forever be grateful I got to bask in it for even a brief moment in time. Thank you for sharing him with us. God Speed my old friend… Here\u2019s to your next great adventure.”<\/p>\n While Heigl was a part of Grey’s Anatomy<\/em> from its very first episode, Dane didn’t make his debut on the medical drama <\/a>until season 2, episode 18. The duo shared the screen on the ensemble show across several seasons, up until Heigl departed midway through season 6. Dane would remain with the show for two more full seasons, eventually exiting in the season 9 premiere on Sept. 27, 2012, when his character, Dr. Mark Sloan, was killed in a plane crash.<\/p>\n