Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper flew to Mexico for treatment at a specialist clinic after becoming seriously ill with Covid.
The Good Morning Britain presenter said she “sometimes sees flashes of the old Derek” though he continues to suffer from the debilitating effects of the virus.
Draper became seriously ill with Covid in March 2020 and spent months in hospital before finally returning home.
The former political adviser, 54, is now free of the virus but has suffered long lasting damage to his organs and requires care at home.
Garraway told The Sun she had accompanied her husband on a trip to Monterrey for a medical assessment by a world-renowned US doctor.
She revealed they had employed a specialist travel nurse to help keep Draper safe on the 16-hour flight.
“It took weeks and weeks of planning, and when I told Derek about this place he was excited,” she said. “He is just so desperate to get better - he will do anything he can to make that happen.”
He will return to the clinic next month for a 28-day stay and doctors will monitor his brain, liver and lungs.
Despite having hope for his recovery, Garraway said she often feels “really lonely” while caring for her husband.
She said: “It’s like there’s both grief and hope in the same moment.
“There are flashes of the old Derek and then he disappears again, and you’re left just feeling really lonely.
“Derek dreams about the ‘before’, and every morning it’s just so, so awful seeing him wake up, and the realisation of where he is.
“There’s a kind of heartbreak in his eyes, every single morning. You can just see it.”
Garraway also said her husband has almost completely lost his appetite, leaving her feeling like she was “living with a stranger”.
Draper and Garraway married in 2005 and have a daughter and a son, Darcey and Billy. She recently took over hosting ITV series Life Stories from Piers Morgan.
A new ITV documentary named Caring for Derek will air on ITV at 9pm on Tuesday evening as a follow up to the award-winning Finding Derek.
