Kate Garraway has recalled an ‘awful’ incident while looking after her husband Derek Draper, when she was forced to use her own body to stop him from falling to the ground at home.
Last night, the Good Morning Britain presenter’s new documentary Caring For Derek aired on ITV, following Kate, her family and care workers looking after Derek at home following his long hospital stay due to his positive Covid diagnosis.
In March 2020, the former political lobbyist, 54, was placed in a coma in hospital, and now almost two years later, he has limited mobility and is unable to communicate as he previously could, requiring 24-hour care.
In the new film, which follows 2021’s award-winning Finding Derek, Kate, 54, explained at one point that three weeks previously on Bonfire Night, they had a ‘situation’ when they were trying to move Derek from his bed into his wheelchair.
‘We just mistimed it, this girl and I, and he went down, and I managed to just get my whole body, sort of like this underneath him, because I didn’t want him to hit the floor,’ she said.
‘So he went down, and I was trying to say, “Ok, we’ll get you up. Are you OK?” And he was like, “Yeah.” And then we couldn’t get him up. It was so awful, I felt so sorry for him.’
Kate explained that their children, Darcey and Billy, had gone to the fireworks, but helped their father when they returned.
‘Bill was so brilliant, he was like, “Oh Dad, you’re in a bit of a pickle, aren’t you?” And he was like, “Yes, I am. Yes I am Bill.” And then Darcey came along the road and fortunately was with her friend’s parents and I said, “Go and get Polly’s dad,”’ Kate said.
The broadcaster turned to her husband to ask if he was alright with his daughter’s friend’s dad helping him get up.
‘He looked me right in the eye and he said, “Kate, I know my predicament. We need help,”’ she recollected.
Kate outlined how Polly’s dad got behind Derek under his arms, with the three of them then lifting him up into the wheelchair.
‘I just thought, this is madness. We’ve got to get him some help that might at least get him better enough to need less care,’ she added.
In Caring For Derek, Kate brought up a previous conversation she had with Derek, when he told her what his wishes would be if he ever suffered from a condition like dementia.
‘Derek would say, “If ever I go gaga” – his words – “with dementia, put me in a home, give me loads of drugs so I’m happy and leave me there.” And I would always say to him, “You don’t actually mean that. I know you don’t mean that. And don’t do that to me. Stay with me and fight for me”,’ she said.
‘But this isn’t that, This isn’t something where he has a diagnosis of a terminal illness or a condition that is going to accelerate. This is a one-off event that nobody understands fully the impact of, so actually, he’s not getting worse.
‘The understanding is, how do we make things better? That’s the challenge.
In the new documentary, Kate opened up on the ‘loneliness’ she has experienced due to his deteriorated communication skills, saying tearfully: ‘In terms of communication he’s gone way back from this time last year.’
‘He could express fears, worries, all sorts of things this time last year. Whereas now it’s “yes, no, I don’t know”.’
She said that while ‘people are very kind and say I’m an inspiration’, she is ‘really struggling’, adding: ‘And it’s important to know that too.’
Caring For Derek is available to watch on ITV Hub.
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MORE : Ben Shephard says Kate Garraway will ‘never give up’ despite husband Derek being ‘in many ways a stranger’ after Covid
MORE : How long has Kate Garraway been married to Derek Draper and was she married before?
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