Politics
Kate Garraway set to return to GMB next week despite husband Derek needing round the clock care from home medical staff
KATE Garraway is set to return to Good Morning Britain next week as her husband Derek Draper continues to recieve 24 hour care.
The 53-year-old spoke on the ITV show this morning about Derek’s return home following a year in hospital after a severe case of Covid-19.
Kate told her fellow ITV hosts she would “see them next week”[/caption]
Kate is due to return to screens next week after getting used to a new routine and a “whole team” of medical staff to help Derek, 53, in his recovery.
Speaking on GMB about the “unique” but “amazing” situation, which sees Derek need 24-hour care, she told her co-hosts she would “see them soon”.
“I’ll see you next week,” she told ITV hosts Ranvir Singh and Ben Shephard, implying she will be back in the studio after settling in wit her husband back at the family home.
“I haven’t really slept as you can probably tell,” Kate began the interview. “We do need a lot of help, and it’s not just help with looking after him because it is 24-hour care.
Derek has finally returned home after a year in hospital[/caption]
Kate has told of how her husband needs “round the clock” care[/caption]
“It will ease off, I’m just very aware at the moment and it’s a whole new team. He’s probably got a little bit used to the people in the hospital and it’s a new team now that are working with him.
“It’s going to take a lot of adjustment but on top of the care side, there’s the very specialised therapeutic intervention, which will have to come in to make sure that this isn’t just about getting him with us for us, it’s hoping that actually this will promp some recovery.”
“He’s definitely sort of plateaued at this level,” she added, before detailing how they are hoping to “move forward” with Derek’s recovery.
The family will continue working with “physiotherapy, occupational therapy, neuropsychology and speech and language therapy” at home.
te broke down in tears discussing his return to their London home[/caption]
Derek will require various forms of therapy to recover[/caption]
With a whole host of medical staff attending to Derek’s needs, presenter Kate re-arranged the family home to accommodate him.
“We’re in the kitchen – we’ve got sofas in the kitchen and our front room is now his bedroom,” she continued, pointing towards the background.
“I thought I’d got it really ready and then the experts arrived and said, ‘Right, we’ve got to get all this out’, you know chairs and sofas.”
Kate explained there was a “huge amount of kit” that Derek needs at all times that she had to find space for, putting the rest of the existing living room furniture “in plastic boxes”.
Kate re-arranged the family home to accommodate Derek[/caption]
Derek was in hospital for over a year battling Covid-19[/caption]
It was revealed today that Kate and children Darcey, 15, and Billy, 11, had welcomed Derek home after more than a year in hospital fighting Covid.
She burst into tears live on air as she told Good Morning Britain viewers the first time she was able to lay four places at the dinner table.
On his second night home, Kate made her husband’s favourite meal, a homemade casserole, as one of many “”lovely little moments”.
“When I was laying out the plates I realised I was laying out four and… it makes me cry now,” she described. “It feels like the start of a huge chapter, but a really, really big and important one.”
Derek was reunited with his children Darcey and Billy on his return[/caption]
It comes as…
- Kate Garraway’s stricken husband is back home after more than a year in hospital fighting Covid.
- Derek has been confirmed as Britain’s longest surviving Covid hospital patient.
- He uttered his first word in October — which was “pain” – but is now “responding regularly”.
- His family has been warned that he still faces a “long and gruelling” fight to full health.
- Derek, 53, burst into tears after being reunited with his children this week for the first time in four months.
- Kate’s emotional GMB co-star Ben Shephard broke down on live TV today after Derek’s return.
Derek is the longest surviving Covid hospital patient in Britain[/caption]
Derek has now been taken off all machines but will continue to receive round-the-clock care at the family’s adapted property in North London.
Celebrating his return 48 hours ago, Kate came on Good Morning Britain to update viewers on Derek’s coronavirus battle.
The family has been warned that he still faces a “long and gruelling” fight to full health.
Kate told of the emotional moment Derek burst into tears as he was reunited with his kids.
Kate said Derek burst into tears on his return home[/caption]
She said: “As we pulled up [to the house], I could see two little faces of Darcey and Billy looking out of the window and I could literally see them go, ‘He’s here!’ They ran out and opened the door.
“He immediately burst into tears, there was a lot of hugging and got him inside. He absolutely knew he was home.
“He is responding all the time. What he’s not able to do is talk and say, like you might imagine Derek might say on coming home, ‘Why the hell is the place such a mess?’. It’s not like that. But he’s absolutely responding and aware where he is.”
Kate continued: “They’ve both just not stopped cuddling him and actually it was a very late night… all lying in a bed, I came back downstairs to sleep in the same room as Derek.
Derek was struggling to make progress in hospital[/caption]
“Bill said, and Darcey agreed, they both just said, ‘Mum, he is home, let’s just take that in, he’s home’ and I said, ‘Yes, he is, that’s great’. They’re just delighted he’s home. I’m trying to balance the emotions of the next stage.
“We’ve got to stay positive and have hope. We’ll get there. He’s here!”
Former political spin doctor-turned-psychologist Derek has been confirmed as Britain’s longest surviving Covid hospital patient.
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He was admitted with breathing difficulties on March 30 last year, and after being put on a ventilator, he spent months in a form of coma called PDOC — Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness.
In October, Derek uttered his first word — which heartbreakingly was “pain” — to express his discomfort.
Kate revealed that his body had been ravaged by the virus.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV, and is available to stream on the ITV Hub.
