Kate Garraway has told her GMB colleagues and viewers she doesn’t know if husband Derek Draper will recover.
Derek has been in hospital for almost 10 weeks, much of it in an induced coma, which host presenter explained ahead of speaking to his friend.
Greeting Ben and Ranvir Singh from her garden, Kate began: “Good morning, even hearing you say 10 weeks… it’s that strange thing. It feels a second ago. It’s so nice to hear your voices. Thank you for having me.
“Well I mean, blimey, there will be tears by the way, so I’ll try to keep it in. He’s still with us. He has fought the most extraordinary battle.
“But, you know, the fact that he is still here is holding on. I’m just so grateful he’s still here. And I’ve got the option of praying and hoping.
“He is very, very sick. And as time goes on… it’s a virus… it’s a little bit like a computer virus, there seems to be a flicker of hope and then other things emerge and he’s fighting that. It’s affected him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
“He’s now COVID-free, the fight of the virus is won.
“It’s wreaked extraordinary damage on his body and we don’t know if he can recover from that.”
He is no longer in an induced coma but doctors haven’t seen a case like his and do not yet know what outcome to expect.
Clapping for carers
Last night Kate, 53, shared the news on Thursday (June 4) as she and her two children, Darcey and Billy, clapped for the NHS.
She wrote: “No official #clapforcarers tonight but we just wanted to have our own mini one as our heartfelt thanks go on to all fighting to keep Derek with us.
Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper has been fighting for his life against coronavirus.
Tomorrow, from 7am, she joins Ben and Ranvir, to speak about how her family has been coping over the past nine weeks. pic.twitter.com/ryS8WWqmq8
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 4, 2020
“Tomorrow I will have the chance to update you & thank you for all your support on @gmb – see you at seven. #hope #staypositive”
Read more: GMB host Ben Shephard emotional as he shares news on Kate Garraway
Calling on a colleague
Earlier in the show, Dr Hilary Jones revealed he had urged Kate to call an ambulance after he spoke to Derek.
He told Ben and Ranvir: “He had been deteriorating. His symptoms weren’t typical and she was very worried and concerned about whether she should call an ambulance.
“I asked to speak to Derek and was concerned just by how he was speaking and breathing.
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“I asked him to hold his breath and see how long he could do it without it being uncomfortable and it was under 10 seconds.
“We’d be able to hold our breath for at least a minute if fit and well. Under 10 seconds is significantly abnormal. Holding breath is a sign of lung function. It’s not a diagnostic test.
“He is still very poorly.”
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