Kate Garraway, a Good Morning Britain star, revealed the details of her late husband Derek Draper’s passing in January 2024 following a devastating four-year battle with Covid-19.
TV presenter Kate Garraway has revealed she “didn’t know” her husband would be permanently altered before his heartbreaking death following a four-year struggle with Covid-19.
Kate explained that it came as a profound shock to discover Covid wasn’t “binary” and that there existed a third outcome beyond simply living or dying. Her husband Derek Draper caught the deadly virus at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, and was rapidly put into an induced coma.
After Derek’s hospital discharge, the Good Morning Britain host, 58, assumed the role of his primary carer until his passing in January 2024.
She acknowledged that she had not considered the possibility that the hospital’s admissions officer might have completely altered him.
Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast, Kate recalled: “So that I didn’t know. When he got into the ambulance he said: ‘You’re definitely going to see me again.’ What I didn’t know was the Derek in the form that got into the ambulance, I wouldn’t see again. And obviously neither did he,” reports Wales Online.
“Devon came back in abundance. It was a wonderful honor for me to take care of him, and I felt incredibly fortunate for that. Although difficult, I always felt incredibly fortunate to have spent those five years.
In 2005, Kate and Derek wed political consultant, and they have two sons, William and Darcey, both known as Billy, and William. Kate hadn’t realized there was a third possibility beyond survival or death when Derek was initially taken to the hospital during the first wave of Covid-19 cases, a reality she had faced for nearly four years prior to Derek’s passing at age 56.
She stated on the podcast that she believed no one else was aware of this. So I regarded Covid and believe that we all approached him in a binary manner.
You either lived or died, and the result was so obscene because so many people passed away before they even entered the hospital.
“And at that point there were no medications or ways to stop it.” With a brand-new virus that was fatal, the medical industry made every effort possible.
However, I believed it to be binary. When they tried to put him out of the coma, we realized there was a third option, which became extraordinary to manage when he started to come out. You would still live, but life would forever change.
Kate continued by stating that even doctors weren’t fully aware of Covid-19’s devastating long-term effects at the time of its 2020 release.
The virus can actually ravage every cell in the body, including those who have been affected by the liver, kidneys, brains, lungs, and other areas.
She continued, “We now know because there are millions of people with long Covid. They occasionally feel a little out of breath, and other times they feel a little worn out.
“And some people are unable to walk still while using wheelchairs.”
Kate participated in Celebrity Traitors’ debut season earlier this year. She expressed concern about whether “anyone would want her” despite considering the possibility of rediscovering love.
