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Kate Garraway faced ‘ordeal’ of 12-hour flight with husband Derek Draper after heart attack-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro
The flight back to the UK was ‘a huge undertaking and ordeal’.
![Kate Garraway faced ‘ordeal’ of 12-hour flight with husband Derek Draper after heart attack-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SEI_186036529-7615.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
The flight back to the UK was ‘a huge undertaking and ordeal’ (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
Kate Garraway boarded a 12-hour flight with Derek Draper in an effort to save his life after he suffered a heart attack.
On Friday January 5, the Good Morning Britain star announced in a post shared on Instagram that her husband had died at the age of 56.
Garraway, 56, informed her followers: ‘I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away.
‘As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.’
The presenter shared that Draper was ‘surrounded by his family in his final days’, and she was ‘holding his hand’ when he died.
It’s been reported that prior to Draper’s cardiac arrest, Garraway took him to Mexico so that he could receive specialist treatment, after he had suffered from serious health issues after first contracting Covid-19 in March 2020.
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Send Kate Garraway and her children your support after Derek Draper’s death
The author and former political advisor was hospitalised last month after suffering a ‘huge heart attack’, and has been requiring full-time care since contracting Covid in 2020.
Garraway is said to have returned to London so that she could look after their children Darcey, 17, and Billy, 14.
She was reportedly informed that Draper had suffered a cardiac arrest while she was travelling on a connecting flight inside Mexico in early December.
‘It’s been an unbelievably gruelling eight weeks for Garraway, and how she is still going is quite remarkable,’ a source told The Sun on Sunday.
The insider claimed that after the couple first went to Mexico in November, Draper’s ‘treatment went incredibly well, and his doctor and all the consultants were hugely optimistic about his long-term progress, and future’.
They shared that as Garraway ‘excitedly’ came back to Mexico to bring her husband home to the UK, she found out he had suffered a cardiac arrest.
The couple were married in 2005 and shared two children together (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
‘Doctors confirmed this could have happened at any point over the last four years due to the damage to Derek’s organs inflicted by Covid. Quite simply, it was unavoidable,’ the source said.
Garraway was said to have been by Draper’s side while he was receiving intensive care in Mexico, with his journey back to the UK described as a ‘military operation’.
The former political lobbyist was reportedly flown back to the UK by a ‘costly’ air ambulance, which was ‘a huge undertaking and ordeal’.
‘Unfortunately, despite the doctors in Mexico getting his heart beating stably again, Covid damage meant further complications ultimately affected his chance of recovery,’ they stated.
There has been an outpouring of support for Garraway and her family following their devastating loss in heartfelt tributes.
Fellow GMB host Ben Shephard wrote on Instagram: ‘On what has been the saddest of days @kategarraway I’ve been reminding myself of the wonderful times and memories we have all shared together.
‘This is how I’ll always think of Derek – bringing you so much joy, your smile says it all, the size of which is matched only by his love for you, Darcey and Bill. Sending all our love Kate to you and all the family ❤️.’
Susanna Reid said in a message directed to Garraway: ‘Our whole hearts are with you all.’
In her post announcing Draper’s death, Garraway said that she has ‘so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable nad dignified as possible’.
She concluded: ‘Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Kate Garraway’s representative for comment.
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