Kate Garraway has given an update on her family life as well as her husband Derek Draper's progress as he continues to battle the devastating effects contracting coronavirus had on his body. Many fans are aware that Derek Draper suffered severe complications after contracting coronavirus in March 2020.
The former political advisor was struck down with the virus and quickly became critically ill. He is believed to be the worst-affected living Covid patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital between March 2020 and April 2021. Despite fighting back and returning home after more than a year in the hospital, Derek is still facing serious and devasting consequences today.
But last month, Kate shared a smiling photo of her husband at their London home - a rare occurrence as she normally keeps photos of her husband private - as she heaped praise on one of his carers. She took to Instagram with the snap which sees Derek sitting up in bed with a smile on his face and holding hands with his healthcare professional, Jake.
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"Many of you will remember Jake who cared for Derek when he first came out of hospital in April 21 - from the documentary #caringforderek, so you will know what a wonderful healthcare professional he is," Kate started her post. She then added: "The world of carers never fails to surprise me with their depths of talent, thoughtfulness and motivation #happyfriday all!"
It is the first time Kate has shared a photo of Derek since March 2022, when she posted a snap of Derek in his wheelchair in the garden with their son Billy, as she spoke about how gardening had been pivotal to keeping on top of her own mental health.
Sharing a fresh update on Derek’s ongoing recovery, the Good Morning Britain presenter said: "It is challenging, he's still very, very damaged. He still can't really move, still can’t really speak, still fed through tubes, and so there's a long road ahead."
Speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on her Walt Disney Travel Company podcast Journey To The Magic, Kate added an update on the family, including children Darcey and Billy, as whole saying: "They’re good."
She added of Derek: "But if you compare to last Christmas or the Christmas before, when he was still in hospital then you can see improvement. It's just, you just want it to be quicker and faster, of course, like everybody would. But it's a challenging one – he spent most of last year in the hospital as well for various different things, so it was lovely to have him home."
Kate, who has released two documentaries ITV's Finding Derek and the follow-up Caring For Derek - chronicling her experience of caring for Derek since his health battle began, has also given a reason as to why she decided to let the cameras into her life and home at such a worrying and personal time.
"I started filming Derek in hospital to see if there was progress," she explained to former I'm A Celeb winner Giovanna. "And it was so emotional seeing him with all the tubes and everything that goes with it and in such a sick state. But I couldn’t really take it in and then afterwards the doctors would say, 'did you see any difference from last time?' And I was thinking 'gosh, I don’t really know that I took it in' – I was just overwhelmed with the emotion."
The Journey To The Magic podcast episode with Kate will be available from Wednesday, March 15 on all streaming platforms, and will also be available to watch on the Disney UK YouTube channel.
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