Kate Garraway revealed that this Christmas will be spent adjusting and adjusting to a new normal as her husband Derek Draper continues his recovery from coronavirus.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 54, is a carer for the former lobbyist who continues to battle the ‘devastating’ effects of long Covid, after falling ill in March 2020.
The virus caused severe damage to his liver, kidneys, and pancreas. His heart stopped beating on more than one occasion. He also battled pneumonia and infections that punctured his lungs.
Tough: Kate Garraway revealed that this Christmas will be spent adjusting and readjusting to a new normal as her husband Derek continues to recover (pictured in 2019).
The star spoke to Woman’s Own magazine about how things will be different this season, but she hopes she can take him to Chorley so he can see his family.
She said that she had brought him home this year and that they are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be able to stay home. He’s not going out in Santa Claus costume. [daughter]Darcey to create a father-daughter Christmas shop, or the same with [son]Billy.
“None are those things on the horizon at this moment so it’s adapting to a new norm but also grateful that he is here at all. which we didn’t have last year and feared would never come true.
Kate added, “The dream is to get Derek to Chorley.” [with the Draper side of the family]. Moving him at the moment is a major problem. It’s exhausting for him.
Difficult: The Good Morning Britain presenter, 54, is a carer for former lobbyist who continues to battle ‘devastating’ effects of long Covid, after falling ill in March 2020
‘If not, perhaps the Drapers could visit us for a large gathering, covid permitting. And I will be seeing the Garraways, but my oven is broken so I don’t know if anyone wants to come to see me.
Kate revealed that her relationship with her husband is now more difficult because of his condition.
She stated that it was both emotional and physical as your relationship with the person has changed. However, what I have found is that Derek can be very present in some moments and then not in others.
“You suddenly feel a strange, overwhelming sense of loneliness and want to grab the person, fix them, or bring them back.
Shocking: The virus wreaked havoc throughout his entire body, resulting in kidney failure, liver and pancreatic damage
“But then, you realize you’re focusing only on your own emotions and not on their needs.”
It comes after last week Kate appeared to confirm the identity of the mystery Royal who helped support her during her husband Derek’s Covid battle.
During her appearance at the Prince’s Trust awards event last Thursday afternoon, the star spoke to Prince Charles about his kindness, which she referenced in her memoir The Power Of Hope.
Family: Derek is pictured in 2019 with the couple’s two children Darcy and William
Kate said: ‘And you might not remember but you were very kind to me because my husband got very sick with Covid after the last Prince’s Trust awards. You wrote to me and gave me help, so thank you very much… and he did improve.’
Prince Charles tested positive for coronavirus in March last year, just days after Kate met him at the 2020 award show, after which she voiced fears over the meeting and later leading to both her and Derek’s contraction of the virus.
Kate initially wrote about the gesture in her book, yet did not confirm the Royal’s name – leading to Thursday’s revelation over the identity being Charles, who battled the virus himself last year.
An honour: This comes after Kate confirmed last week the identity the mystery Royal who supported Kate during her husband Derek’s Covid battle.
In her April release, The Power Of Hope she wrote: “One day, I received a note from a member the Royal Family, offering my services as a Royal physician.” It was beautiful, I thought, even though it seemed utterly unbelievable.
Derek is the longest-surviving COVID-19 patient in America. The ex-lobbyist is still recovering at their London home.
Kate documented Derek’s story in Finding Derek earlier this year.
After 4.5 million viewers tuned in to the documentary in March, it became ITV’s most-watched documentary in three years.
The show was presented by the presenter, who documented Derek’s year-long battle against COVID-19. Viewers were applauded for giving such candid insights into Derek’s long recovery.
After Derek was admitted with the respiratory disease, Kate documented every step of his year-long battle against coronavirus.
She won the National Television Award for Authored Documentary last month and shared a photo of their FaceTime call on Instagram.
Reaching out: Last year, the Prince of Wales revealed he was ‘lucky’ to have experienced ‘relatively mild symptoms’ of Covid-19 after testing positive in March 2020