‘I said to him, just stay with me’: Kate Garraway recalls the ‘devastating’ moment husband Derek Draper told her he couldn’t go on amid Covid battle
- The TV presenter, 53, spoke to her husband, 53, on the phone from hospital where he has spent months in intensive care as he battles the virus
- In a clip from her new documentary Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, Kate said it was ‘terrible’ to think her husband had reached such a low point
- She said: ‘Derek had been drifting in and out of consciousness and when he said that, it was absolutely devastating, but it showed me he was still in there’
- Viewers will see Kate speaking to Derek as he tells her he feels like there is ‘no way out’ and he has got to the point where he no longer knows how to cope
- Kate then told her husband that he will get better and that he will come back to his old life with her and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 11
- Derek has lost eight stone amid his health battle with Kate revealing the children have not seen him in person at all this year
Kate Garraway has recalled the ‘devastating’ moment her husband Derek Draper told her he feared he couldn’t go on while he was in hospital with coronavirus.
The TV presenter, 53, spoke to her husband, 53, on the phone from hospital where he has spent months in intensive care as he battles the virus.
She said: ‘Derek had been drifting in and out of consciousness and when he said that, it was absolutely devastating, but it showed me he was still in there. Even though it was terrible to think his spirits were so low’.
Viewers will see Kate speaking to Derek as he tells her he feels like there is ‘no way out’ and he has got to the point where he no longer knows how to cope.
Harrowing: Kate Garraway has recalled the ‘devastating’ moment her husband Derek Draper told her he feared he couldn’t go on while he was in hospital with coronavirus
Tough: The TV presenter, 53, spoke to her husband, 53, on the phone from hospital where he has spent months in intensive care as he battles the virus
In the clip, obtained by the Daily Mirror, Kate then told her husband that he will get better and that he will come back to his old life with her and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 11.
Viewers then see Kate vowing to save Derek as she helped to bring him back from his lowest point back in November.
The presenter told The Mirror: ‘After that call, it was then time to go into GMB and go on air, having been up all night, it was a tough night actually.
‘But everyone at ITV has been so incredibly supportive. I managed to get through. During this whole time, working on GMB and Smooth Radio has helped me to keep going and keep my spirits up.’
Low point: In a clip from her new documentary Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, Kate said it was ‘terrible’ to think her husband had reached such a low point
Doting mother: In the clip, Kate then told her husband that he will get better and that he will come back to his old life with her and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 11
While Covid is no longer in Derek’s system, the virus left him battling kidney failure, liver failure, heart failure and damage to his pancreas.
Kate added: ‘And in the end, I said to him, “Just stay with me, I’m going to keep talking to you”. And he was obviously exhausted. Because that’s the other thing, is that the tiniest thing completely exhausts him.’
The broadcaster said that even Derek voicing his feelings like that would have taken a huge amount out of him as he has such little energy.
Kate spoke to her husband on the drive into work that day and then told the doctor’s to put on Good Morning Britain so he could see her.
Heartbreaking: Viewers then see Kate vowing to save Derek as she helped to bring him back from his lowest point back in November (pictured together prior to Derek’s coronavirus battle)
The presenter first invited a film crew into her home last September with the hope that the film would end with Derek returning home.
But seven months later, the documentary will instead focus on Derek’s year in hospital as well as the many months of recovery that are left.
Derek has lost eight stone amid his health battle with Kate revealing the children have not seen him in person at all this year.
She added the kids did visit Derek over Christmas and described it as a ‘shock’ to see the physical change in him.
Kate has made the ground floor of her home wheelchair accessible and is looking ahead to visiting Derek in hospital as soon as lockdown is eased.
Tragic: Derek was admitted to hospital in March after contracting the respiratory illness and was subsequently placed in a medically induced coma before he awoke in July (pictured in hospital)
Kate, who acknowledges there is still a long way to go in Derek’s road to recovery, thinks the couple’s relationship may be changed forever.
The presenter said he will behave differently and be physically different but she thinks his return may be a ‘beautiful thing’ as they will have the chance to fall in love all over again.
During an appearance on The One Show on Thursday, Kate said Derek is ‘trapped in the middle ground’ as he is sometimes able to communicate with her before slipping out of consciousness.
Kate said: ‘One of things I’m here to talk about is the documentary and what you will see is that this time last year, I was, like a lot of us, wondering what was coming our way.
‘I was fearing the worst, on air reading headlines about the earliest cases of people contracting coronavirus and then I suddenly found myself right in the middle of it.
Finding Derek: Viewers will see Kate speaking to Derek as he tells her he feels like there is ‘no way out’ and he has got to the point where he no longer knows how to cope
‘And I’d say there was weeks and months of living minute by minute, wondering if I was going to get the call to say whether he lived or died.’
Kate went on to explain that while Derek has survived Covid, he is ‘trapped in the middle ground’.
Derek was admitted to hospital in March after contracting the respiratory illness and was subsequently placed in a medically induced coma before he awoke in July.
She said: ‘Derek is an extreme case, he has a prolonged disorder of consciousness which means that there is some reaction.
‘It’s not like what we see in movies where people are lying in a vegetative state, you know you can look at his eyes and before Christmas there was a lot of progress with some words and communication.’
Sad: Kate – who shares Darcey, 15, and William, 11, (pictured in 2019) with her husband of 15 years – admitted it is ‘shocking’ to see his current state, including his eight stone weight loss
Derek is considered to be the longest surviving COVID-19 patient in the country.
On more than one occasion his heart stopped beating, he battled bacterial pneumonia and fought multiple infections which punctured holes in his lungs.
Kate said: ‘What I feel like is that I’m on a life boat somehow and he’s coming up and down. You’re on this precipice trying to hold onto him.
‘There’ll be moments where he bubbles up and you have contact with him on FaceTime because of the Covid restrictions.
Health battle: While Covid is no longer in Derek’s system, the virus left him battling kidney failure, liver failure, heart failure and damage to his pancreas
‘It feels like you’re going to have to fill him with so much positivity because he’s going to sink down.’
The GMB host said there will be ‘heartbreaking moments’ in the documentary, as when he does regain consciousness, viewers will see ‘what must be agony for him’.
Kate continued: ‘His brain has always been his best friend. Suddenly his brain is no longer his best friend and he’s fighting to get out.
‘It’s very, very tough. But if it’s tough for me, it must be tougher for him.’
Kate Garraway: Finding Derek airs on ITV on Tuesday at 9pm.
A timeline of Derek’s coronavirus battle
MARCH 2020
Kate revealed she and Prince Charles had got ‘relatively close’ at the Prince’s Trust Awards on March 11 – Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-March.
She said: ‘Around the 29/30 March, I came home came in and said [to Derek] ‘god you look ill.’
‘He said he had a headache, numbness in his right hand, and was struggling to breathe,
‘I rang Dr Hilary (Jones) and tried to get through, he talked to Derek. He said put me back on, I think you need to call an ambulance’
Derek, 52, was taken into hospital on March 30 and remained in an unresponsive condition.
APRIL
Kate and her children isolated at home after she displayed ‘mild symptoms’.
Kate said: ‘Derek remains in intensive care and is still very ill. I’m afraid it remains an excruciatingly worrying time.
‘I’m afraid he is still in a deeply critical condition, but he is still here, which means there is hope.’
MAY
Kate said: ‘The journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as every day my heart sinks as I learn new and devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight.
‘But he is still HERE & so there is still hope.’
That month, Kate and her family took part in the final clap for carers
She said: ‘I’ll never give up on that because Derek’s the love of my life but at the same time I have absolute uncertainty’
JUNE
On June 5, Kate revealed Derek is now free from coronavirus but continues to fight against the damage inflicted on his body
JULY
On July 5, Kate revealed Derek has woken from his coma but he remains in a serious yet critical condition.
On July 8, she announced she would be returning to GMB, after being urged by doctors to ‘get on with life’ during Derek’s recovery.
She added that Derek had ‘opened his eyes’ after waking from his coma, but has been told his recovery could take years.
On July 13, Kate returned to GMB for the first time since Derek was hospitalised.
On July 28, Kate revealed she’d paid an ‘extra emotional’ first visit to Derek, and admitted she’s ‘frustrated’ by his slow progress.
AUGUST
On August 14, Kate reassured GMB viewers that Derek was ‘still with us,’ but it was ‘a waiting game.’
On August 19, Kate revealed she celebrated Derek’s birthday with their two children, and described the day as ‘challenging’ for her family.
SEPTEMBER
At the end of September, Derek reportedly becomes the longest surviving patient with coronavirus after spending 184 days in and out of intensive care.
Kate reveals Derek has lost eight stone during his battle.
The presenter announces she is returning to her Smooth Radio show so Derek can hear her voice.
OCTOBER
On October 30 Kate reveals that Derek has spoken for the first time in seven months, saying the word ‘pain’ to his wife, who watched on ‘in tears’ over FaceTime.
Kate says a day later that her husband no longer needs a ventilator to breathe.
NOVEMBER
Kate reveals her family car has been stolen in latest ‘body blow’ to her family life, as kind-hearted fans offer their cars to help.
She says she feels ‘physically sick’ at the prospect of facing her first Christmas without Derek.
DECEMBER
The GMB star tells viewers it is her dream to visit Derek on Christmas Day.
She also reveals she missed two weeks on GMB after her children were exposed to the virus, but thankfully she and the kids tested negative.
On December 17, Kate has an emotional conversation live on GMB with two nurses who treated Derek when he was first admitted to Whittington Hospital in North London.
On New Year’s Eve she reflects on a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without Derek, as her house was flooded and she struggled to get a food delivery slot until her pal Emma Willis stepped in to help.
JANUARY 2021
Kate reveals she and her children got to visit Derek in hospital over the Christmas period, and it was the first time her family had seen him since he was hospitalised.
She also says she’s banned from seeing him due to new restrictions introduced during the government’s third lockdown.
FEBRUARY
Kate reveals she is unsure how much Derek will ‘ever be able to recover’ following warning from doctors that he may never wake from his coma
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