Lorraine Kelly has touched upon ITV colleague Kate Garraway's difficult year as her husband Derek Draper continues to suffer the effects of long COVID.
In March 2020, the Good Morning Britain host's world was turned upside down when Derek, 53, was admitted to hospital. The political lobbyist was placed into an induced coma as his blood oxygen levels severely dropped after he contracted coronavirus. After 12 months in hospital, Derek is now home but requires round-the-clock care.
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During a new chat with MailOnline, Lorraine confessed how "profoundly" the entire team at ITV were affected as they watched Kate's struggle play out.
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"It hit us all really hard when Kate's husband got Covid - he got it very badly of course," she said. "With that and having Dr Hillary [Jones] on our team, we were so on it at ITV. Everything was done so well in terms of safety and social distancing and hand-washing."
She added: "He is back home. And it's a case of baby steps. But Katie is just incredible."
Kate's husband Derek spent one year in hospital
Kate's bravery and strength was recently shown in a candid ITV documentary, Kate Garraway: Finding Derek. She also released her book, entitled The Power of Hope. The personal diary documents Kate's account of the "devastating impact" coronavirus has had on her husband and their two children.
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Initially told he wouldn't survive, Derek is thought to be the UK's longest-fighting patient of the virus. "At the moment the family and I are looking for lots of little things with Derek," Kate updated Lorraine Kelly last month. "He's home, we can hug him, that's a miracle in itself. We're looking for little bits of him to come more out of the consciousness, to come more back to us."
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