Kate Garraway has spoken about the “very lonely and very difficult” time she has had caring for her husband, Derek Draper.
In March 2020, the former political adviser fell seriously ill with Covid-19, which left him with long-lasting damage to his organs and needing daily care.
Good Morning Britain presenter Garraway only sleeps for around four hours most nights and has not taken a day off since he became sick, according to The Sunday Times.
The 56-year-old told the newspaper: “Caring for someone you love is a privilege, and I will never give up, but I want to champion the cause that everyone in my position faces because I know people are drowning trying to navigate through the care system.
“We talk about a crisis but it is beyond crisis. It is very lonely and very difficult, and I at least do have that voice.”
Garraway has made two documentaries detailing her family’s life as Draper battles the long-term effects of coronavirus, with both programmes winning National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
She was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.
She said: “I worry that I’m failing on every front, at everything. But I’ve got to keep going and fight on for Derek.”
She also revealed that, on the day of a Good Morning Britain episode last November, she had to go to hospital with chest pain.
Garraway said: “When I went back, they (the doctors) said ‘Ye-ah, we don’t think you’re strong enough to do stressor tests’… funnily enough… I mean, oh my God, we’ve had enough stressor tests.”
She also said Draper has developed a “weird choking” and his inability to breathe out carbon dioxide or breathe in oxygen “is slightly poisoning his body all the time”.
She said her husband becomes “very emotional about the strain this has put on me” but having an illness can “strip you of your empathy”.
She also said she has never had a “period where we could say ‘Well, at least he’s safe now’.”
Garraway and Draper were invited to be Sir Elton John’s guests of honour at his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at London’s O2 Arena in April.
Her husband was also at her side in June, despite being in and out of hospital, when she collected her MBE from the Prince of Wales in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Garraway also said her “children’s lives are passing, my life is passing” and it is “no longer possible to live in crisis mode”.
She added: “If he was more physically stable, if we knew more about the parameters, if we knew how much of the old Derek can be retrieved, I’d be able to reason more.”
Garraway has also written two books – The Power Of Hope: The Moving Memoir From ITV’s Kate Garraway, and The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism – following Draper’s health struggle.
– The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism is due to be published in hardback on Thursday.