Kate Garraway has paid tribute to carers looking after their sick relatives, speaking of the strain they face, but admitting they are 'paid with love.'
The TV presenter's husband Derek Draper, 54, requires 24/7 care at home after he contracted Covid in March 2020 and was put in an induced coma by doctors.
Kate, 54, decided to continue Derek's treatment at home after he spent a year in hospital. He can still only sit in his wheelchair for about 20 minutes.
Appearing on The One Show yesterday, Kate spoke about her decision and the response to her ITV documentary Caring for Derek, which aired last month.
The programme saw Good Morning Britain (GMB) presenter Kate adjust to the changes in her life with the political lobbyist turned psychotherapist and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 12.
Kate said: "People have been so kind, generally it’s one of the lovely things about the horror story we have lived through, with the pandemic and what's going on now.
"The documentary really focused on the carers, and the unpaid ones, (unpaid) other than with the love of their loved ones. The parents, kids, partners, there’s millions of them.
"It’s such a wonderful thing to be able to do but it’s a tough thing and it’s tough for the carer."
The mum-of-two also spoke about Derek's trip to Mexico for a long Covid clinical trial, seen in the documentary.
She revealed the trip left her friends, including GMB co-presenter Ben Shephard, concerned for her "sanity".
She said: "There’s a point where money runs out and I was thinking, ‘this isn’t sustainable, there isn’t the structure there to help long-term, what are we actually going to do?’
"I can’t give up, I can’t give up on him.
"And I’ve been doing a lot of research on the following documentary of wonderful people who’ve contacted me and this particular doctor had dealt with people not as severe as Derek, but in the area.
"[He] offered us the chance to be a kind of test case.
"But [Derek] can sustain sitting in a wheelchair for maybe 20 minutes before he flags, so the thought of going 5,000 miles seemed properly bonkers.
"I think Ben Shephard was a little bit concerned about my sanity."
However, Kate said that trip has given Derek the "possibility of hope", and he is due to return to Mexico next month.
She went on: "We sort of worked hard and funnily enough, I sort of thought that at the end of the journey, if nothing else comes from this, the fact that he’s [Derek's] done this.
"I can already see has said something to himself about the possibility of hope."
Caring for Derek follows documentary Finding Derek, which detailed Kate's family's plight during his 13 months in hospital.
The Life Stories presenter won a National Television Award last year for the programme.
The One Show airs on BBC every weeknight at 7pm.
