Tearful Kate Garraway reveals her ‘one regret’ after husband Derek Draper’s death in heart-wrenching documentary
A TEARFUL Kate Garraway has revealed her “one regret” after husband Derek Draper’s death.
The emotional moment was a heartbreaking coda in tonight’s documentary about Kate and Derek – the nation’s longest-suffering Covid patient.
Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story gave an inside look into the final few months of Derek’s life.
It also looked at Kate’s battle to juggle caring for her husband and the rest of her busy life.
Derek died in January after catching Covid in March 2020 which had caused him to suffer devastating health problems.
In a candid moment following Derek’s death, Kate reflected to the documentary crew about her time looking after Derek.
The producer asks: “Do you have any regrets?”
Kate replies: “I think if I had any regrets, it’s every single minute that I didn’t spend holding his hand because I had to go and write an email, go and make a phone call.”
“[I regret] Having to fight to fight the system that should be there to catch you when you fall but feels like when you’re going through it like it’s there to catch you out.
“And that’s what now I want to be Derek’s legacy – to fight on for that change.”
The documentary also covered other heartbreaking moments of Derek’s final months.
Draper once labelled himself “pathetic” as he struggled to get out of his wheelchair, before bursting into tears.
At one point Derek is working with his mobility therapist Cornel, who’s encouraging him to stand up out of the wheelchair he was bound to.
The dad can be seen working to try stand with the help of his walking frame.
The mobility therapist says encouragingly: “One, two, three and push – I’m not helping you much.
“I don’t want to help you too much, I don’t want to pull you up off the seat.”
Derek required round-the-clock help from care workers, as well as therapists to help him with his movement and speech, as part of his recovery.
He became one of the most severely affected Covid-19 patients back in 2020 when, after being put into a coma for 98 days, was left suffering from a number of ongoing, life-threatening conditions.
But despite his lengthy list of needs, the mum and her family were denied any Government funding, meaning the TV presenter had to hire in help at a large cost to the family.
She told the cameras: “Derek’s care costs more than my salary for my TV, and that’s before you’ve paid for a mortgage, before you’ve paid for any household bills, before you’ve paid for kids – so, we are at a crunch point.
“I am in debt and I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care.
“I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery, because it’s going on the basics all the time.
“I’m not going to pretend by the way that I am poorly paid, I have an incredible job that I love that is well paid, but it’s not enough.
Derek Draper's four-year health battle
- March 30, 2020: Derek is rushed unresponsive to hospital with Covid.
- April 24: He is put into an induced coma.
- June 5: Kate reveals Derek is Covid-free but his body suffered damage.
- July 5: He awakens from a deep coma but remains “minimally conscious”.
- September 6: Kate then reveals Derek lost eight stone and cannot speak.
- September 29: Derek becomes the longest-suffering Covid patient after spending 184 days in hospital.
- October 30: Wakes from coma and speaks for the first time in seven months.
- October 31: He is finally taken off ventilator after 214 days in hospital.
- January 7, 2021: Kate reveals kids got to visit Derek at Christmas – the first time since he was hospitalised.
- April 9: Derek returns home after over a year but needs full-time care.
- May 4: He is able to converse more.
- December 22: Pictured in public for the first time at a panto.
- February 21, 2022: Kate says they secretly flew to Mexico for a medical trial.
- July 6: Derek is rushed back to hospital.
- August 1: He is in intensive care with “life-threatening” sepsis.
- June 28, 2023: He sees wife Kate made MBE.
- October 8: Kate reveals Derek is “not doing great” after an infection.
- November 23: In hospital for treatment to help with movement.
- December 11: Taken ill and suffers a heart attack.
- January 3: Derek Draper tragically dies.