Kate Garraway has opened up on her worries about husband Derek Draper’s health, saying she’s never felt like he is ‘safe’.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 56, shared the ‘heartbreak’ she feels over Derek’s health while on new podcast Emotionally Speaking with host Peter Leonard.
Derek, 56, has been in and out of hospital after he fell seriously ill with coronavirus at the very start of the pandemic in March 2020, and was left with lasting damage to his organs.
Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator and he was in hospital for 13 months before being discharged in April 2021.
However, he has readmitted several times with numerous health issues, including kidney failure, brain inflammation and liver damage.
Kate Garraway has opened up on her worries about husband Derek Draper’s health, saying she’s never felt like he is ‘safe’
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 56, said: ‘One of the challenges with Derek is we’ve never felt like he is safe, so every infection and rush back to hospital might be the moment he is taken from us. We are still hopeful he will improve but we have no clear timeline on this’
She explained: ‘He is living in the world of the unknown, when he wakes u pin the morning it is heartbreaking because it feels as though you are watching someone who may have been inhabiting his old life in his dreams and then he wakes up and you see the cloud descend of the battle he has ahead.
‘But if you look back, there is some progress, he has more words now and his voice is stronger. You occasionally get a little bit of a Chorley accent in there so it feels like he is more present, but he still can’t sit up without assistant and his life isn’t his own.
‘His brain had always been his allay and friend, but now it is his enemy. I think he’s had a big emotional struggle.
She recently released her book, The Strength of Love: Embracing an Uncertain Future with Resilience and Optimism, in which she tells Derek’s story and how it’s changed her and her family’s lives.
Kate added: ‘One of the challenges with Derek is we’ve never felt like he is safe, so every infection and rush back to hospital might be the moment he is taken from us. We are still hopeful he will improve but we have no clear timeline on this.
It comes after Kate appeared on Heart Breakfast in September alongside Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston where she spoke about her husband’s health problems and how it impacts the family.
Jamie asked: ‘How are the kids feeling, that adjustment must be tricky especially at their age?’
Derek, 56, has been in and out of hospital after he fell seriously ill with coronavirus at the very start of the pandemic in March 2020, and was left with lasting damage to his organs
Kate spoke about how her and Derek’s daughter Darcey, 17, and son William, 14, are dealing with their father’s illness, gushing that they were ‘navigating it brilliantly’ (pictured in 2021)
Kate replied: ‘Well, yeah I think it’s been quite interesting. I think some of what I’ve been writing about in the book, is the fact that you have adrenaline, don’t you, when something dramatic happens.
‘I talk about what I think is adrenaline, it’s a bit of a frenemy. One level it’s fantastic, it gets you through the crisis, and then as time goes on, it’s not great for your own health.
‘Derek himself has been living on a version of adrenaline as well. And the kids have too in their own way, so I think the last year and a half really, has been coming to terms with the fact that we’re not in a ‘one week’ ‘two week’ ‘three month’ drama.
‘We’re in something ongoing and I think weirdly, that’s how it’s felt for everybody beyond the pandemic.
‘We still don’t know, just how much better Derek can get, or worse. So really every time he has a rush into hospital, we’re still in that adrenaline phase of ‘is this the moment where he could be taken from us’.
‘But also, there’s so many spikes of progression, that no one’s giving up hope that there isn’t going to be a movement forward, so it’s managing that rollercoaster. Sorry that wasn’t particularly clear.’
Amanda then weighed in on Derek’s progress, calling it ‘amazing’ and he continues to go ‘up and up and up’.
Kate agreed: ‘It’s interesting, he comes most alive I think when he’s around, not so much me, let’s be honest, but no, of course there is a huge amount of love for me.
‘[But] he does come alive and you can see him kind of trying to be the old Dad as much as he can, trying to make them laugh, trying to do different things.
‘But they’ve had to realise that, I mean Derek was this kind of loud, rumbustious, huge, you know… overwhelming… [man], and god how we loved it, but he’s not that now, so they’ve had to readjust,” the GMB host added, gushing over how well her teenage daughter and young son have navigated the situation “brilliantly”‘.
Kate was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity
It comes after Kate praised her two children, Darcey, 17, and William, 14, for the way they have handled their father’s health struggles.
She said: ‘I think it’s been quite interesting, I think some of what I’ve been writing about in the book, is the fact that you have adrenaline, don’t you, when something dramatic happens.
‘I talk about what I think is adrenaline, it’s a bit of a frenemy. One level it’s fantastic, it gets you through the crisis, and then as time goes on, it’s not great for your own health.
‘Derek himself has been living on a version of adrenaline as well. And the kids have too in their own way, so I think the last year and a half really, has been coming to terms with the fact that we’re not in a “one week” “two week” “three month” drama.
‘We’re in something ongoing and I think weirdly, that’s how its felt for everybody beyond the pandemic.’
She continued: ‘We still don’t know, just how much better Derek can get, or worse. So really every time he has a rush into hospital, we’re still in that adrenaline phase of “is this the moment where he could be taken from us?”
‘But also, there’s so many spikes of progression, that no one’s giving up hope that there isn’t going to be a movement forward. So it’s managing that rollercoaster.’
Discussing the relationship between the kids and Derek, she said: ‘He’s their Daddy. And it’s interesting, he comes most alive I think when he’s around, not so much me, let’s be honest, but no, of course there is a huge amount of love for me!
‘He does come alive and you can see him kind of trying to be the old Dad as much as he can, trying to make them laugh, trying to do different things.
It comes after Kate appeared on Heart Breakfast in September alongside Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston where she spoke about her husband’s health problems and how it impacts the family
‘But they’ve had to realise that, I mean Derek was this kind of loud, rumbustious, huge, you know… overwhelming… and god how we loved it, but he’s not that now, so they’ve had to readjust.
‘You know how you bounce off your parents, different boundaries, and they are doing it brilliantly. They’re navigating it brilliantly.’
Kate has made two documentaries detailing her life as Derek battles the long-term effects of Covid-19, with both winning National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
She was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.
Kate said: ‘I worry that I’m failing on every front, at everything. But I’ve got to keep going and fight on for Derek.’
