Kate Garraway says having husband Derek home for Christmas is ‘biggest gift’
Kate Garraway has described spending Christmas Eve with her husband for the first time since he fell seriously ill with coronavirus as “the biggest gift.”
The 54-year-old TV host’s partner, former political adviser Derek Draper, spent last December in hospital after contracting the virus.
He has since been reunited with his wife and their children, Darcey and Billy, at their family home.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Garraway admitted there was still a “long, long way to go” with regards to his recovery, but that she felt grateful to have him home this festive period.
Offering an update on his health, she told viewers: “Obviously, he still has extraordinary problems with communication, mobility is very limited, massive problems with fatigue.”
He doesn't fall unconscious but sometimes "it's like he's not present", she added.
"We were playing a silly game, one of those moral question games - 'who's more likely to have a criminal record.'
"And they asked who is the most likely to find money on the floor and keep it , and everyone in the room all said at the same time 'Darcy', and he started to laugh.
"And honestly it was just the most lovely moment."
Reflecting on having him home, she said: “Last Christmas Eve, we did have a lot of promise and a lot of hope. But Derek was in hospital.
“We had no idea whether he was going to live or die, praying that it was going in the right direction.
“A huge amount of gratitude for all the staff, the NHS teams that have kept him alive, and grateful that he was still alive as many other people have lost their life.
“And this year, of course, he’s home so we are spending Christmas together, and that is the biggest gift.
“It’s kind of hard to get your head around really. But we have still got fears. Still got a long, long way to go. And still hugely grateful for everyone that kept him alive and saved his life thus far.”
Garraway, who won a prize at the National Television Awards for a documentary about her family’s experience during the pandemic, also praised care staff who had come to the family home.
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She added: “But really what to say actually, this year since he’s been home, people in the community – friends, incredible family all around – have been amazing.
“But the teams that have come out to help, the nurses, the therapists, and most extraordinary, the carers have been phenomenal. It’s just amazing.
“People working in care homes are making it possible for people to be able to have some kind of Christmas.
“But actually carers that are going out into the home are making it possible for a lot of people to have Christmas and without them we wouldn’t be able to be together.
“I’ve always thought the whole world of caring, local authority and the agencies are amazing. But I’ve got a whole new thing. So thank you very much to everybody.”