Kate Garraway revealed the reason for her husband's recent return to hospital was "life-threatening" sepsis.
The TV presenter, 55, was back this week on Good Morning Britain after a three-week absence and explained why she had "dramatically disappeared" to co-host Richard Madeley. Derek Draper, a 54-year-old former political adviser, fell seriously ill with coronavirus in March 2020 and, despite now being free of the virus, he has suffered long-lasting damage to his organs and requires daily care.
Kate told Richard : "I dramatically disappeared and haven't been here for three weeks now... We were on air and Derek had come out of hospital, he's been going in and out of hospital for a while for looking at ways to tackle the damage caused by Covid back in 2020.
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"But we haven't really had any sort of medical eruptions, and then he just was really unwell.
"He'd come out of hospital the day before and (I) got a phone call from the person who was looking after him saying, 'right, we're really worried', so I whizzed home, and it just sort of went 'boom' from there."
Derek was taken to hospital where Kate said they discovered he had "very severe sepsis, life-threatening sepsis". Thankfully, Derek's swift diagnosis has meant he is receiving proper care with things looking positive.
Sepsis occurs when the body overreacts to an infection and starts to damage the body's own tissues and organs. It can be fatal and is notoriously hard to spot.
Can sepsis be treated?
Treatment for sepsis varies, depending on the area affected, the cause of the infection, organs affected and the extent of any damage. Intensive care may be needed for those whose breathing is badly impacted by sepsis, reports the Daily Record.
Treatments include giving antibiotics, or antiviral medication if sepsis has been caused by a virus. Sufferers can also be given intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration and kidney failure, and they may also need oxygen.
Mechanical ventilation may be applied to a patient if breathing is seriously impeded, along with dialysis if the kidneys are impacted. Sepsis is treatable if it's identified and treated quickly. In most cases it leads to full recovery with no lasting problems.
What are sepsis symptoms?
The NHS says the following symptoms in an adult or child are an indication that 999 should be rung or the person rushed to A&E:
- acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
There are extra symptoms to watch for in babies and young children:
- a weak, high-pitched cry that's not like their normal cry
- not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
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