Kate Garraway, often a host of Good Morning Britain, looked after her husband Derek Draper, who died in January 2024 following a cardiac arrest after a journey with long COVID
Kate Garraway described the “tsunami of sadness” she experiences after she often wakes in the middle of night panicking she hasn’t given husband Derek Draper his medicine.
The broadcaster, a regular on Good Morning Britain, has detailed the “joys and responsibilities” of being carer in a candid article following Derek’s death aged 56 in January 2024. The lobbyist had a lengthy journey with long COVID, during which Kate, 58, became his primary carer.
Kate, who had two children with Derek, held his hands until the very end, she said in a previous interview. In her latest piece, the presenter told how she continues to grieve the psychotherapist, whom she married in 2005.
The mum wrote: “Being a carer, its joys and its responsibilities, stays with you even after you have lost the person. I still wake up in the middle of the night panicking that I haven’t given him his medicine, or that I have forgotten to move him every hour to prevent the painful contractions in his limbs.
“The next second I realise he no longer needs that care. There is a moment of relief — that I did not let him down — before a tsunami of sadness hits.”
READ MORE: Kate Garraway calls herself by first husband’s name after revealing emotional Derek story
Nearly 60 per cent of carers struggle to look after their own health, a report by non-profit organisation Carers UK this week shows. Four in ten have cancelled medical appointments to prioritise the person they look after and 1.2million live in poverty, including 400,000 in deep poverty.
Kate refers to these figures in her piece for The Sun, stressing her own health suffered during Derek’s battle. She experienced a “heart event” in November 2022 on her way into work for Good Morning Britain, and was dashed to hospital. It is likely she will need surgery for her autoimmune thyroid condition.
Kate, originally from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, added: “My autoimmune thyroid condition — neglected during Derek’s illness — has now worsened significantly. Surgery now looks likely. It could have been avoided.
“During a three-week gap in care, while the system tried to work out which agency should give Derek the life-saving care he needed, I had no choice but to try to get through looking after Derek 24/7 completely alone.”
Unpaid carers, Kate says, save the country £184billion a year — more than the entire NHS budget. However, the broadcaster argues more needs to be done to support them, and has called on Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to consider this when delivering today’s spending review.
Directing her poignant message at the politician, Kate wrote: “Put them at the heart of your plans. Invest in their health, give them real support and recognise the vital role they play.”