In a year full of tragedy and loss for many people, Kate Garraway’s personal hell over the past 12 months has been gut-wrenching. Around this time last year, the TV presenter’s husband Derek Draper was rushed to hospital with coronavirus, and he has remained in intensive care ever since, becoming the UK’s longest-surviving COVID-19 patient.
During that time, Kate has shown remarkable resilience, taking care of their two kids, Darcey, 15, and Billy, 11, while also returning to work at Good Morning Britain. But in a new ITV documentary, the 53 year old has opened up about the brutal year she’s endured – and how Derek’s condition is still a daily heartache, with little hope of improvement.
“Derek is the sickest person the team of doctors have treated that’s lived,” Kate says in a clip from Finding Derek (ITV, 9pm, 23 March). “Is he going to be able to come back, or will he be alive but no longer the person he was?” In one distressing scene, Kate describes her pain and anguish at Derek being put into an induced coma as part of his treatment for the virus, which attacked his entire body, causing his heart to stop numerous times. And, while Derek has since beaten the virus, tragically he hasn’t regained full consciousness and remains in a critical condition.
In another clip, Kate can be seen picking up a photo frame in her home and screaming, “Derek, I miss you!” Speaking to The Sunday Times magazine, Kate recalled a particularly upsetting day, when she had to wait 24 hours to find out if her husband was still alive, having been told by the hospital, “He may have died. Somebody will call you back.” She later found out someone “who had a similar name” had passed away.
The past year hasn’t just proven to be an emotional minefield – it’s been a financial one, too. Shockingly, Kate hasn’t been able to access Derek’s bank accounts, nor their mortgage account or joint savings, as everything is in his name. This meant that last year, as work dried up while the country locked down, the self-employed TV star found herself having to rely on friends for financial support. One such friend, Emma Willis – who happens to be the face of Marks & Spencer – proved to be particularly helpful when Kate was isolating before Christmas ahead of a planned visit to Derek. She had no food in the house after the fridge/freezer broke and every single supermarket delivery slot was fully booked.
“[M&S] sent over a hamper of Christmas goodies,” Kate revealed, finding some humour amid all the tragedy. “So, we had this extraordinary situation where we didn’t have any bread, but we had canapés. The kids would ask, ‘Can’t we have Rice Krispies?’ ‘No, we don’t have any. But you can have truffles!’”
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As for the future, doctors remain as unsure as ever about Derek’s recovery, meaning Kate still has no idea whether he’ll ever be able to come home. Before Christmas, there was hope that he would be able to return home for a day visit – leading to Kate fitting the house with wheelchair ramps and a wet room. But then lockdown 3.0 came into force, after which Derek’s condition “dramatically” declined again. She and the kids haven’t been able to visit him since December, and have been relying on daily FaceTime calls to see him.
Speaking on The One Show last week, she said, “What must be agony [for Derek], his brain has always been his best friend. He’s lived on his wit, and suddenly his brain – which also we know controls the body – is no longer his friend, and he’s fighting to get out.” She also said, “The very worst moment was when they said he could be locked in for ever. And I just thought, ‘This is a horror story.’ I don’t know if he’ll ever have any kind of life again.”
Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine – OUT NOW.