Kate Garraway’s Husband Derek Could Be ‘In Minimal State Of Consciousness' For Years

6 July 2020, 11:15

Kate Garraway has been warned by doctors her husband Derek Draper could remain ‘locked in’ a comatose state for years.

Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper has opened his eyes, but he may never recover from the damage covid-19 has done to his body.

The Good Morning Britain host told Hello! magazine her husband may live with “minimum consciousness” for years after he opened his eyes from the coronavirus-induced coma.

WATCH: Kate Garraway Opens Up About Last Conversation With Husband Before Coma With Coronavirus

After coming out of the coma, Derek’s recovery may now take months or even years.

Kate said she has constantly been waiting for the phone to ring throughout the entire time her husband has been in hospital, after he was admitted into intensive care at the start of April with coronavirus.

The Smooth FM presenter told the publication: “I have been living at the end of the phone 24/7, waiting for news of Derek

"But the doctors have warned that his condition could persist for years so I have to get on with life while we are waiting for him to get better.

“Billy starts secondary school in September but Derek’s doctors say he won’t be out of hospital by then.

“My priority is to make the children feel safe, to not let them see me feeling vulnerable in a world where Derek was my rock.”

Kate Garraway on her husband's last conversation before coma

Kate is adamant her husband can hear her and their children when they FaceTime everyday, and he has begun occasionally opening his eyes.

"I really believe he can hear. When medical staff say: 'Good morning, Derek,' he sometimes opens his eyes. We and the doctors are doing everything we can so that he can start to recover,” she said.

The mum of two is also preparing to return to work on GMB after doctors advised her to bring back a sense of routine into the family.

She added: "I also need to get back to work so that I can provide for the children and we can do things together, to make them feel that the light hasn't gone out of their lives, that there’s hope for the future."

Kate is also planning to return to her regular slot on Smooth FM.

Last month the mum of two told the tabloids doctors don’t know if her husband will ever recover, with one doctor telling her: “‘I think I have to give you a second worst case scenario, which is that he never changes from this. That he is locked in this for ever’.

“He said, ‘I’m not telling you this to scare you. It’s because we don’t know if he can recover. We’ll only know over the coming weeks and months’.”

Kate said she threw up at the news, admitting people had warned Derek might die but not that he could stay in his current state forever.

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