Kate Garraway still fears she could lose husband Derek Draper
The TV star's husband still needs round-the-clock care after a tough Covid battle.
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Kate Garraway has opened up on the fear she still feels that she could lose her husband Derek Draper every time he is taken back into hospital.
The Good Morning Britain presenter's husband spent a year in hospital as the UK's worst affected living Covid patient and still needs round-the-clock care now he is back at home with her and their two children.
Garraway, 56, spoke to Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden for Heart Breakfast on Monday, where she told them about the stresses the family still live under - and the hopes they still carry that Draper could make a significant recovery.
Talking about her recently-published book The Strength of Love, she said that the family had been living on adrenaline for a while.
"On 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," she said.
Read more: Kate Garraway's husband vowed 'I won't let the sun go down on me' after Elton tribute
"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."
Garraway's book covers the healthcare system and her family's experiences of it, and she said that they still had not got used to Draper being rushed back into hospital with infections and setbacks.
She said: "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."
Garraway has made two award-winning documentaries, Finding Derek and Caring for Derek, about their lives now and has also previously published another book, The Power of Hope.
She added that Draper "comes most alive" around their children Darcey and William as he tries to make them laugh and "be the old Dad".
Talking about how the children were coping with the huge changes in their family, she said that they were "navigating it brilliantly".
