I worry how I’m going to get through another day – without Derek’s carers I’d feel so alone says emotional Kate Garraway
KATE Garraway has told of her worry about "getting through another day" as her husband Derek Draper's health battle continues.
The 54-year-old spoke emotionally on stage at The Great British Care Awards as she thanked those who look after the nation's most vulnerable.
Speaking in front of a crowd of carers at the ICC Birmingham alongside co-host Steve Walls, Kate said: "I want you to know how important the work you do is and how much we do realise it.
"That moment when you think the carer isn't going to arrive and you think 'how am I going to move Derek, let alone get through another day'.
"And then they do and you think, 'oh thank god, I'm not alone.
"It's just extraordinary.
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"Thank you so much on a personal level."
The Great British Care Awards is a series of regional events held throughout the UK.
It's an opportunity to reward those in the care sector for their hard work.
The subject is close to home for Kate, whose husband Derek caught Covid very early on in the pandemic and spent 374 days in hospital.
He is still very ill after suffering organ failure and clots on his lung.
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He also may never be able to walk again because the tendons and muscles in his legs have seized up from having been in an induced coma for so long.
Derek still requires 24-hour expert care - he would die within three days should he be left unaided - Kate continues to do a super-human amount of it herself.
She often gets up every two hours in the night to help the overnight carer to move him in bed, and she has to wash and change his bed linen a staggering seven times a day.
She juggles that with getting up in the early hours to host Good Morning Britain.
Kate previously told The Sun Derek would die within three days if he's left unaided without expert care.
We told how she secretly flew Derek to North America for a ground-breaking medical trial in November.
The GMB star pursued the trip when a world renowned U.S doctor contacted her after seeing Derek’s plight on TV.
Kate accompanied the critically ill psychologist on a gruelling 16 hour journey where he underwent pioneering treatment at a specialist clinic in Monterrey, Mexico.
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Incredibly, Derek is due to return to the centre next month for another 28 day stay as doctors continue to monitor his brain, liver and lung function.
He has shown some signs of improvement since his visit, but remains bed-stricken and needing around-the-clock care.
