Kate Garraway revealed husband Derek Draper’s health had ‘improved’ for the first time in three years, just months before he suffered a heart attack which has left him ‘fighting for his life’.
The Good Morning Britain star, 56, has cancelled all of her work commitments and is holding a bedside vigil as the lobbyist fights for his life.
Prior to this, Kate also revealed she was expecting Derek, 56, to spend the festive period at home.
In March, Kate shared a health update on the Walt Disney Travel Company’s podcast, Journey to the Magic.
She told host Giovanna Fletcher of her current family situation with Derek and admitted: ‘They’re OK, they’re good. It is challenging, he’s still very, very damaged.
Kate Garraway shared her hope that husband Derek Draper would finally spend Christmas at home this year, just months before he suffered a heart attack which has left him ‘fighting for his life’
The Good Morning Britain star, 56, has cancelled all of her work commitments and is holding a bedside vigil as the lobbyist fights for his life
‘He still can’t really move, still can’t really speak, still fed through tubes, and so there’s a long road ahead.
‘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.’
Derek, 56, has been plagued with health woes after contracting Covid in 2020 and is now said to be fighting for his life after being taken dangerously ill last Monday.
GMB presenter Kate, 56, is said to be holding a 24/7 vigil by his bedside and has cancelled all work commitments while his family ‘pray for a miracle’. It is expected she will spend Christmas at her husband’s bedside in hospital .
Derek 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 he became the longest-suffering coronavirus patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital, apart from Kate and their two children – Darcey, 16 and Billy, 13.
However, he has readmitted several times with numerous health issues, including kidney failure, brain inflammation and liver damage.
Following the heartbreaking turn of events it has been reported that Derek was ‘in great spirits’ and looking forward to Christmas with his family.
A source told The Sun : ‘It was sudden and a shock as he had been doing so well and was in great spirits, looking forward to Christmas at home with the family.
‘This setback has been a huge blow for his family and all the people caring for him.
‘Kate has been utterly incredible — by his side while being an amazing mum to Darcey and Billy, and trying to manage their expectations of a family Christmas.’
Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper ‘isn’t in a good way’ after suffering a heart attack, her co-star has revealed
Kate recently revealed her family are ‘adjusting to a new normal’ as Derek battles to get better and shared a ‘promising’ update on Derek’s health, hoping it could lead to an improvement.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Kate shared: ‘Derek’s in hospital having some treatment. It’s not an emergency thing, it’s not a dramatic rush back into intensive care, thank goodness. It’s something that started last year that we hope will lead to improvement.
‘I’ve managed to get it in before the end of the year. It’s something we were trying to do in the summer, but there are referrals and time and all of those things.
‘Every day we wait and see. There isn’t a dramatic improvement but touch wood things haven’t gone backwards either. So we’re just adjusting to a new normal.’
While Kate tries to stay as positive as she can, she also feels like Derek is never ‘safe’.
Earlier this year, Kate revealed she was planning to take Derek to Mexico for a second bout of experimental treatment in a desperate bid to save him from the devastating effects of Covid.
Following a previously ‘gruelling’ trip to Mexico at the beginning of 2022, Kate shared her hopes at flying Derek back for an additional round of treatment.
Kate told The Sun : ‘The effort required to get him there is extraordinary, and obviously we are relying on the grace of these specialists to help him.
‘I can’t thank all those involved in getting him to Mexico enough because without them he wouldn’t have the chance of this potentially life-changing treatment.’
She added: ‘The plan is to go back for another round of treatment and continue the trial in a way that is financially viable.’
Although Kate insisted that they’d had ‘wonderful treatment’ from the NHS, which were essential in keeping her husband alive, the foreign trips offer ‘potentially life saving treatment’.
As well as the trip, the Smooth Radio presenter has had to spend ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ adapting the family home in London for Derek, which included the installation of ramps, a downstairs wet room and a makeshift downstairs bedroom.
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)
Due to the severity of his illness and length of time spent in hospital he remains unable to walk and has developed debilitating symptoms.
In summer last year Derek developed sepsis and was again rushed to hospital, where the severe condition nearly killed him.
She shared the ‘heartbreak’ she feels over Derek’s health while on new podcast Emotionally Speaking with host Peter Leonard.
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.
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.
Kate and Derek share daughter Darcey, 17, and son William, 14.
Jamie asked: ‘How are the kids feeling, that adjustment must be tricky especially at their age?’
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.’
‘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.’
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.