Politics
Derek Draper’s doctors feared his mental consciousness was going backwards before he returned home to Kate Garraway
DEREK Draper’s doctors feared his mental consciousness was going backwards before he returned home to his family.
The 53-year-old burst into tears as he was reunited with his wife Kate Garraway and their children Darcey, 15, and son Billy, 11, after a year in hospital fighting Covid.
Derek Draper’s recovery had stalled in recent weeks[/caption]
He is now regularly responding, and has been taken off all machines and breathing apparatus, but is progress had stalled the longer he was separated from his loved ones.
As Britain’s longest surviving Covid hospital patient, Derek will now have round-the-clock care from as he battles to overcome the devastating effects of Covid-19.
A family friend told The Sun: “The professional medical teams who have been looking after Derek have decided to release him from hospital into 24-hour care at home.
“They noticed that his cognition and consciousness had stalled and, if anything, was going backwards over the last couple of months.
Kate Garraway has been separated from Derek for a year while he’s been in hospital[/caption]
She has spent months communicating with Derek on FaceTime[/caption]
“Even though the doctors and nurses have done an incredible job, necessary Covid restrictions have meant visits from Kate and access to wider therapy have been very limited.
“Derek is a unique case. The medical experts are now looking at unique ways to give Derek every chance of making the best recovery, and agree that being surrounded by his wife Kate and their two children, is vital to reaching that goal.
“The hope is that by boosting his mental health — which being surrounded by his loved ones clearly will do — Derek’s physical health will be significantly bolstered too.
“Kate has been dreaming of this day for so long, and she can’t thank the wonderful NHS staff enough.
“They have all been magnificent to get Derek to this point.
“He still has a very long way to go, and medically they’re taking this a day at a time under strict medical supervision.
“But, unquestionably, this is the start of a whole new chapter for the family.
“After the hell they’ve been through, the family truly deserve this bit of hope and happiness.”
Former political spin doctor-turned-psychologist Derek has been confirmed as Britain’s longest surviving Covid hospital patient.
Derek has left intensive care[/caption]
He was admitted with breathing difficulties on March 30 last year.
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 appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning to update viewers on his condition.
She said: “There have been improvements in autumn, he’s using more words, and there are more things that he can do now.
“He’s got some more movement in his hands, he can show emotion. But it felt as though everything had stalled medically and if anything was going slightly back.
The dad-of-two burst into tears when he was reunited with his kids[/caption]
“Obviously within the very necessary Covid restrictions that are in place, I couldn’t visit, family couldn’t visit, even some of the therapeutic things we would want to do to help him move forward couldn’t happen, so taking all that into account, they said, ‘Right let’s give this a go, let’s get him home safely.’
“So it does feel a little bit like the hospital has come home with me at the moment, as we’ve got all sorts of professional people making sure everything is safe and then see how being in the family environment could help.”
Derek is home after a year in intensive care[/caption]
This morning – ahead of Kate’s appearance on Good Morning Britain – her co-star Ranvir Singh said Derek’s return home is the “magic” he needs to help his recovery.
The 53-year-old has left hospital after a year in intensive care fighting Covid.
Ranvir said on today’s show: “Anybody who has someone in a vulnerable state and has not been able to see them to give them your personal love, your personal attention, for them to hear your voice, haven’t been able to touch them, will know.
Ranvir Singh says Derek’s family will be the ‘magic’ he needs to recovery[/caption]
“For somebody in recovery, not just survival mode, everyone in the medical world around them have said that Derek not having contact with Kate was having an effect on him.
“Medicine is one thing, but the psychology, the mind… there is a magic in the family that you can’t replicate in a medical setting, no matter how much you can try.
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“It’s about that contact, hearing your children. That can have an enormous affect on somebody’s recovery.”
She added: “It is wonderful, what a wonderful moment.”
