Kate Garraway says Derek is ‘fighting to get out’ as his brain is not his friend

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Kate Garraway has given an update on her husband Derek Draper’s health battle and revealed he is “fighting to get out”.

Appearing on The One Show on Thursday, Kate spoke to hosts Alex Jones and Michael Ball about her upcoming ITV documentary called Kate Garraway: Finding Derek.

Referring to her husband’s battle with coronavirus, Kate said: “Derek is an extreme case. What he had is what is called a prolonged disorder of consciousness which means that there is some reaction.”

Derek, 53, contracted Covid in March 2020 and was put into a medically induced coma, and his is officially the longest battle of any Covid survivor.

“It is not like the coma we see in movies where people are lying in a vegetative state. He can open his eyes and before Christmas there was a lot of progress with words and communication and things,” Kate continued.



Kate Garraway appeared on The One Show on Thursday and spoke about her husband's ongoing health battle
Kate Garraway appeared on The One Show on Thursday and spoke about her husband’s ongoing health battle

“But what I feel like is that I am on a lifeboat somehow and he is coming up and down. Sorry, this sounds very figurative but that is how it feels.

“You are on this precipice trying to hold on to him and there are moments when he bubbles up and you have some contact, predominantly at the moment on FaceTime because of the Covid restrictions.



Derek Draper contracted Covid in March 2020 and was put into a medically induced coma
Derek Draper contracted Covid in March 2020 and was put into a medically induced coma

“It feels like you’re having to fill him with so much positivity because he’s going to sink down,” the mum-of-two added.

She went on to describe the fact she was living in a “strange world” where she was existing “minute by minute” when Derek first fell ill.

“You see what must be agony for him. Well, his brain has always been his best friend, he’s lived on his wit, and suddenly his brain – which also we know controls the body – is no longer his friend and he’s fighting to get out.”



In a new documentary, Kate can be seen crying with her head in her hands as Derek is in hospital
In a new documentary, Kate can be seen crying with her head in her hands as Derek is in hospital

A harrowing trailer of the upcoming documentary includes a clip of a desperate Kate breaking down in tears with her head in her hands.

As a video of Derek in his hospital bed plays on the screen, Kate, also 53, says: “Derek is the sickest person the team of doctors have treated that has lived.

“Is he going to be able to come back? Or will he be alive but no longer the person he was?” she asks.

* Kate Garraway: Finding Derek airs at 9pm on Tuesday on ITV

Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/kate-garraway-admits-derek-fighting-23756600

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