KATE Garraway was hailed as “our inspiration” by Susanna Reid as she admitted she hoped her husband Derek Draper would have recovered from his coma by now.
The ITV star talked on GMB about her new documentary Kate Garraway: Finding Derek when she admitted she had thought Derek would have been out of hospital by the time it airs next week.
“I think it is a moment for everyone as we release it has been a year that we have all been living with it,” Kate, 53, said.
“I began making the documentary in August rather hoping that Derek and I would be chatting with you and more recovery would have been possible but that hasn’t been the case.”
Susanna told Kate she was an “inspiration” for the way she has looked after her family alongside working and coping with the day to day changes in Derek’s health.
“You’re our inspiration, you know that,” Susanna told her friend.
Kate explained about the documentary that airs on 23 March is ” looking not just at my family but also to other families and the very very long tale that Covid has”.
“Obviously Derek is an extreme example, we don’t want to scare people, but there are many other people that have got versions of it and still not enough is know,” she said.
“We talk about long Covid we think of breathing, fatigues and anxiety but it is much more widespread than that.
“It is very emotional we are going to talk about it next week. It will be on the anniversary of lockdown. Unbelievable.”
When asked about how she feels seeing the vaccine roll out, Kate said: “Derek was surfing the crest of a grim wave. He was always just in front of… [new treatment]
“The documentary does focus on challenges. I wanted to make the documentary so we could all think about the next challenges that are coming down the line despite the progress we have made with the vaccine and the on going trails that are still going on that are very very important.
“We are all living the pandemic in our own ways. It has affected some people worse that Derek arguably as some people have lost their lives and he is still here fighting.”
Kate added: “I think it will be incredibly emotional but hopefully there will be things we can take out of it.”
Earlier this month, Kate told of her devastation at being told her husband Derek may be “locked in” forever.
After contracting the virus more than a year ago, Derek faced an uphill battle to survive.
Coronavirus ravaged his body, his kidneys failed, he has liver and pancreas damage and his heart has stopped more than once.
Countless infections have left holes in his lungs and the battle has seen him lose eight stone.
However, Kate said that doctors still can’t tell her whether Derek will recover – and they have warned her he may remain “locked in” for good.
