10 September 2023 , 02:51
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Kate Garraway has revealed her husband has developed a horrifying new complication in his battle with long Covid.
Derek Draper has required round the clock care since being hospitalised with the virus in 2020. While he's made some progress since coming out of his coma, he can still only say the occasional few words and is struggling with renal failure and infected wounds. Most concerning of all is his lungs: he can't breathe in oxygen nor breathe out carbon dioxide efficiently, meaning his body is "slightly poisoned all the time". Kate says Derek urgently needs rehab to help him breathe properly again, and detailed a scary recent incident.
Derek recently suffered a scary medical episode in front of Kate and their son (ITV)She told the Sunday Times he has developed a "weird choking" condition that's baffling doctors. “It happened again just last weekend," she said. "For absolutely no reason he just went blue.” Fortunately two carers were on hand to get Derek breathing again as Kate and her son watched in horror. Eventually he "sort of vomited" as the relieved carers knew they'd just had a "really near miss".
The family were thrilled by signs Derek was improving when he eventually came home after his first long stint in hospital. Highlights have included celebrating their daughter's GCSEs, attending an Elton John concert and Derek getting to watch Kate receive an MBE. But he is still facing a long road to recovery, with Kate worried their children will have to act as "carers" more and more. Derek's incontinence means he needs to be changed regularly, and any progress he was making on relearning how to walk was scrapped when he was rushed to hospital with sepsis. As a result, Kate says her husband is "terribly, terribly depressed".
Derek teared up as he watched Kate receive an MBE this year (PA)The couple both contracted Covid early in the pandemic, but while Kate's case was mild, Derek had to be hospitalised and placed in a coma. The virus ravaged Derek's body from top to bottom, causing brain inflammation, kidney failure, damage to his liver and pancreas and his heart to stop several time. He lost eight stone and was left with holes in his lungs from repeat infections.
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It would be another six months before he was deemed well enough to return to their north London home, which Kate spent thousands adapting. She installed a wheelchair ramp and converted the garage into a ground floor wet room. She also created a bedroom for Derek and his medical equipment and told how he would need 24-hour care.
Kate has written about her family's ordeal in a new book The Strength of Love: Embracing an Uncertain Future with Resilience and Optimism, which will be published on Thursday.