It’s been nearly two years since Derek Draper was rushed to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus – but how is his health now?
Will he ever recover and is he able to speak?
This weekend, Kate Garraway appears on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
The GMB presenter reveals the latest on husband Derek Draper’s battle to recover from the impact of Covid.
Here’s an update on his current prognosis and day-to-day life for the family at home.
Read more: Piers Morgan reveals phone call with Derek Draper ahead of Kate Garraway’s Life Stories
Derek Draper health: How is he now?
Sadly, Derek is still seriously ill, suffering with damage to his lungs, kidneys, heart and liver.
Among the issues Derek has suffered with are problems relating to brain inflammation.
Derek now needs round-the-clock care, and sleeps for 20 hours a day.
In June 2021, Kate Garraway gave an important update on her husband Derek Draper’s health.
She revealed that doctors said he is unlikely to recover if there isn’t any progress two years on from him catching Covid-19.
Health care professionals said that “there is very little chance of him making any meaningful recovery” if there is no improvement within the time frame.
Kate said that the doctor had explained that Derek had moved to the chronic phase from the acute phase.
And that Derek is still “very sick” and at “serious risk of dying”.
Can Derek Draper speak?
However, there HAS been progress with Derek’s health.
Derek is now able to communicate, but not to the same degree as before he caught the virus.
Piers Morgan recently opened up on how he spoke to Derek Draper – something he feared would never happen again.
Piers had called Kate Garraway ahead of them filming Life Stories together and she put her husband on the phone.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Piers reveals: “I was stunned. ‘Derek!’ I cried. ‘It’s so good to talk to you!’
“There was a slight pause and then I heard a familiar male voice say very clearly and strongly: ‘Hello!’
“’HELLO!’ I stammered back. ‘It’s great to hear your voice again. Keep battling, Derek – we’re all so proud of you!'”
The former Good Morning Britain anchor said it was a “strange, thrilling experience”.
He added: “There have been many times when I feared I’d never hear Derek speak again.”
Derek’s carer even “burst into tears”, Kate admitted to Piers, as it had been “so unusual to hear him interact like that”.
Read more: Grateful’ Kate Garraway enjoys rare night off from nursing husband Derek Draper
Derek Draper health: What happened to Derek Draper?
Derek contracted Covid-19 in March 2020.
The former government advisor was admitted into intensive care and placed into a coma to aid his recovery.
In May 2020, Kate shared that Derek was unresponsive, and the following month she told GMB viewers that her husband was “very very sick” but “Covid free”.
She admitted uncertainty over whether he would ever “recover”.
She revealed that the coronavirus virus had “attacked everything” and “devastated” Derek Draper’s health.
In July 2020, Derek woke from the coma and was able to open his eyes.
In a bittersweet moment in October, Derek uttered his first word – “pain” – after 214 days in hospital.
Derek finally returned home to North London in April 2021, after more than one year in hospital.
But his life is far from normal.
He suffered from rare brain inflammation and the virus attacked his lungs, heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas.
He is Britain’s worst-affected surviving Covid patient.
Will he ever recover?
It is unknown whether Derek will ever return to normal.
Kate has indicated that there is no one route back to health for her husband, who she married in 2005.
In the recent documentary Walking with Kate Garraway, the GMB presenter Kate admits she’s hoping for a “miracle”.
Kate has vowed to keep fighting for husband Derek.
She recently opened up about how their daughter Darcey, 15, and son Billy, 12, have been affected by their father’s devastating illness.
She told Woman’s Own: “I can sometimes feel their disappointment.
“Like when they say something that in the past he would have lit up at, be shocked at or just responded to in a Derek-like way.
“But he remains passive because he can’t react and you can feel their heartbreak.”
Last month, Kate revealed she had been forced to pack away Derek’s office.
On Instagram, she wrote: So one of things I have been tackling is packing up Derek’s therapy rooms and office.
“I had been dragging my feet because I knew it would be so emotional and because I didn’t want to seem to be giving up hope of him returning to the work he loves one day.
“Then the building was put up for sale and we had to clear out – fate!”
She thanked the team who helped her pack the office away, and added hopefully: “Thanks a million chaps – we will be definitely calling you when Derek is setting up his new venture!”
Derek Draper health: Is Kate Garraway his full time carer?
Kate Garraway and her children Darcey and Billy help care for Derek.
The family also have round-the-clock carers to assist.
In April, the Mirror reported that Kate considered looking after Derek herself.
However, she admitted he needs to be in the hands of professionals.
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on ITV1
Piers talks to Kate Garraway about her life and career in his final episode, before Kate takes over the reins of the series.
In a powerful and emotional interview, Kate reveals the latest on husband Derek Draper’s health and battle to recover from the impact of Covid.
As Britain’s worst-affected surviving Covid patient, Derek spent months in hospital.
He still needs round-the-clock care.
Kate opens up about the devastating effects on her and her family.
Piers, 56, previously revealed that there was not a “dry eye in the house” after he filmed the show with his “fabulous friend”.
Watch Kate Garraway on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on Sunday December 5 2021 at 8pm on ITV1.
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