Kate Garraway meets author who shared hospital ward with Derek
Kate Garraway met one of the other patients that had shared a ward with her late husband during his brutal Covid battle.
The 56-year-old presenter is rebuilding her life after Derek tragically passed away at the beginning of the year - almost four years after he was debilitated by the Covid-19 virus. Derek suffered a cardiac arrest while in Mexico in December and was flown back to the UK - but passed away in hospital in early January.
Derek was one of the world’s worst suffering Covid victims - having been left in a coma by the virus when he first contracted it in March 2020. He spent months in hospital - where he was in the same ward as children's author Michael Rosen, 77, who also battled Covid in an intensive care unit.
This week, Kate returned to co-hosting ITV’s Good Morning Britain for the first time since Derek died at the age of 56 and after his funeral earlier this month. Addressing Michael, she said: “Derek was in the same ward, and you were in a coma at the same time…”
Kate Garraway met with Michael Rosen on Good Morning Britain where they discussed the Covid-19 pandemic (ITV)Kate and Michael discussed a lack of PPE that was available for NHS staff during the pandemic. Kate said: “A lot of staff feel guilt - which they shouldn't do, but do feel guilty of what they could have done differently - and shock and trauma. And in your own way you have felt - although again you shouldn't do - you have felt guilt, tell us about that.”
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Michael responded: “Well I am telling you Kate. I hear about people who died and meet people, I get into a cab and the cabbie says their relations have died from Covid. And I think, why am I here?”
As Kate has been returning to various lines of work this month, she has reflected on the death of her husband. Speaking on LBC earlier this month, Kate recalled Derek's final moments. She said: "I wanted him to know I wasn't giving up because if you are trapped as they believe he was, inside a body that was very damaged and failing, I didn't want him to think that we were departing him... He lived on and on through situations that they didn't think he could. So, I think there is a little bit of peace, but there is also a sense of unreality about it.
Kate cared for her husband Derek Draper - who tragically died in January (ITV)"I think that it was huge honour for me, actually. You can't thank the people around enough, who never stopped fighting for his life but also somehow managed to hold people. It was a huge honour to be there with him through those last hours and to have that. I think about all the people during covid that didn't have that, and I think about all the circumstances when people don't have that.
"Of course that's life and things happen to people and it doesn't mean that it's any less that you can't be there. You take what you are given, but I felt like it was a lovely thing to get to do that for Derek."
This week, Kate also made her return to the airwaves for the first time after Derek's death. She presents Mid Mornings with Kate Garraway on Smooth Radio and thanked her listeners for their support when she returned to the station on Monday. Addressing listeners, Kate kicked off her show saying: "Hello everyone, I am so glad to be back at Smooth. It's just been brilliant to hear the great music again and to see everybody. And thank you for all your really lovely messages, It's so kind of you for you to think of me and also share all your thoughts.
"I know some of you have been sending me letters and messages about people that you've lost and how important it is to share those feelings. So I feel really honoured that you've shared them with me and I'm going to do my best to keep the music flowing.”
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