Kate Garraway’s own health struggles while caring for husband Derek Draper revealed as she suffered ‘pains in her chest’
KATE Garraway has revealed she faced her own health struggles while caring for her husband Derek Draper.
The Good Morning Britain star says she was hospitalised after suffering from “pains in her chest” as she coped with her husband’s covid battle.
The latest documentary showing Derek’s final few weeks – Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story – showed how Kate stood by Derek’s side through his health battle – and looked back to their early years together.
It showed sweet moments between the dad and his children, as well as heart-wrenching moments.
And brave Kate revealed how she was hospitalised because of the pressures of caring for her husband.
In the doc, which aired on ITV, the star’s producer, Claire told cameras how “the heart scare thing” worried her.
She explained: “Kate was on her way here, and she had pains in her chest and throw up over herself in the car.
“The phone call was like, ‘Kate is in hospital’ so naturally your mind goes, ‘Kate is in hospital with Derek’. ‘No, no, no, Kate is in hospital’. Oh my god, what has gone wrong here?
“It was just that moment of ‘Christ, even the woman who seems to go on forever can’t’.”
She explained that Kate was forced to keep working to earn money for Derek’s enormous care bill.
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.
Kate said: “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.
FINAL DOC
The doc aired last night, with Derek finally getting the chance to tell his story “in his voice”.
Tragically, the dad-of-two never lived to see the final result as he died in January.
At one point Derek can be seen 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 to stand with the help of his walking frame.
It’s then that 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.”
But after Derek makes the first attempt at standing, he falls back into the chair and begins to wail.
His wife Kate, 56, comforts him: “It’s OK, darling – it is OK, I promise.”
Derek responds: “It’s pathetic.”
Kate continues: “It’s not pathetic, it isn’t pathetic. You are absolutely trying.”
Derek attempts to stand two further times, as Kate adds more encouragement: “You can take a breath, but keep going. You’re there. Well done! Keep going.”
But he fails to make the move, leaving him upset.
Kate later tells the cameras: “I want Derek to have less care, but in order for Derek to get to that point, you need support.”
Fans of the Good Morning Britain host were left heartbroken by the show, saying Derek had been “on the way up”.
“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.”
In an interview with The Times, Kate estimated the care debt to be between £500,000 and £800,000.
She explained: “It’s supposed to be a system that’s meant to catch you if you fall.
“But actually, it feels like it’s trying to catch you out. You feel like you’re in the dock answering questions about things that will literally mean life or death to someone you love.”
Before he died, Kate already owed debts above £700,000, which were incurred by his psychotherapeutic company’s failure, with Kate possessing no legal authority to administer his business affairs when he became unwell.
In March 2020, Derek was rushed to hospital due to a Covid infection, which sparked years of heartbreaking health battles.
After being taken to hospital, Derek spent 214 days on a ventilator, nearly four months in an induced coma and lost eight stone, as well as his ability to speak properly.
Kate Garraway’s crippling financial battle over Derek’s care
KATE Garraway’s unfaltering love and care for her late husband has touched millions of hearts across Britain over the years.
But behind her courageous efforts to provide round-the-clock support for Derek Draper was a tide of crippling bills costing more than £16,000 a month.
For three years, Derek – who was put in a coma for 98 days after contracting Covid-19 in 2020 – battled a number of ongoing, life-threatening conditions before dying aged 56 in January.
During that time, he became so ill that Kate was forced to convert their £4million north London home into a virtual field hospital.
Unable to receive public health funding, the Good Morning Britain star was shelling out herself for expensive treatments, including a hyperbaric oxygen tent she hoped might restore her husband’s severely damaged lung function.
But the costs soon began to pile up for courageous Kate, who is believed to earn around £544,000 a year from her work with ITV.
Now, the mum-of-two is laying her financial troubles bare in the documentary, Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, which exposes how families caring for seriously ill loved ones at home are routinely left underfunded.
The tear-jerking show, which airs tonight, follows Derek’s final year and reveals that his basic care had cost a minimum of £576,000 since 2020.
Kate – who is mum to Darcey, aged 17, and Billy, aged 11 – admits on the show: “How can anybody afford £16,000 a month?
“Derek’s care costs more than my salary. And that’s before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay for any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids.
“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.”
Following this, Derek was struck down with more ill health.
In December 2023, Kate was by her husband’s side once more after he suffered a huge heart attack.
Kate’s much-loved partner tragically died on January 5 following a four-year battle.