Kate Garraway has shared how she couldn’t see Derek Draper in the hospital this year – but enjoyed a ‘wonderful’ family reunion over Christmas.
Due to lockdown rules, she has not been allowed to enter and see her husband for nearly three months while he remains in intensive care to combat the effects of the coronavirus.
Instead, Kate relies on iPad video calls to talk to Derek almost every day and the last time she was there was in December with the family, including kids Darcey and Billy.
Kate told the Mirror: “It was lovely, it was wonderful. And I am so proud of the children.
“Because, yeah, they spoke to him on FaceTime. Yes, nothing is a secret to them. But it’s still a physical shock to the system to see it in the flesh.
(Image: ITV)
“Because he has changed. Derek is physically very affected. His legs are like sticks, he has no muscle. In terms of movement, he is physically affected. “
“And of course, they have longed for so long, so long, to be able to have their father and be with their father. And they were planning what they were going to say and do.
“Of course, he can’t answer exactly like he did before, but he was looking at them directly and his expression showed so much love. They managed brilliantly, they seemed to unite ”. ”
Kate was speaking before ITV’s new documentary Finding Derek, which will show the challenges Derek and his family faced a year after contracting the coronavirus for the first time.
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Although the virus left her system, her body suffered from kidney failure, liver and pancreatic damage, and heart failure.
Kate recounts how he “still fights” but at a low point last November he said he couldn’t go on.
In the documentary Finding Derek which airs on ITV1 Tuesday, we hear Derek say, “Kate, there is no way out. There is no way out. * that, “he said.
“As in die? Kate bravely asked Derek before answering “Yes… I don’t know how to face, I don’t know how to face.” “
Kate refused to give up on the man she loved and vowed to save him.
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(Image: ITV)
“You don’t know how to deal with it. OK, ”she told him. “I know you feel trapped in your head and it’s terrifying. But you come home, you come back to your life and you will be the person, even better than before. You will be.
“I’ll find a way to improve it. I promised you that I would save you and I will save you, I will find a way, but you just have to hang on. “
* Kate Garraway: Finding Derek is on ITV Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. Kate Garraway The Power of Hope is now available for pre-order.
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