Kate Garraway has spoken about her husband Derek Draper’s ongoing battle with long Covid.
In a new interview, Garraway said that she sometimes sees “flashes of the old Derek” as he continues to struggle with health problems caused by coronavirus.
While discussing her forthcoming docuseries Caring For Derek – a follow-up to the award-winning Finding Derek – the Good Morning Britain presenter said Draper, 54, experiences “a kind of heartbreak” every day.
The former political adviser became seriously ill with the virus in March 2020 and, while Draper is now Covid-free, he suffered severe damage to his organs – including his liver, lungs, pancrease, kidney and heart – and now requires constant home care and supervision.
Draper’s leg muscles and tendons have also seized up from having to be placed in a long, medically induced coma – meaning there’s a chance he may never walk again.
“There are flashes of the old Derek and then he disappears again, and you’re left just feeling really lonely,” Garraway told The Sun.
Adding that Draper – who sleeps between 16–20 hours every day – dreams about the ‘before’,” Garraway revealed that it is “awful” to see him grapple with his condition “every single morning”.
“There’s a kind of heartbreak in his eyes.”
Further providing an update on Draper’s slow recovery, Garraway said that her husband doesn’t have much of an appetite any longer. As Draper used to have a big appetite, Garraway said she sometimes feels as if she is “living with a stranger”.
The pair married in 2005 and share a daughter and a son, Darcey and Billy.
Caring for Derek will premiere on 22 February at 9pm on ITV.
Additional reporting by Press Association
