Kate Garraway’s kids haven’t seen Derek for 6 months after last day of normality

Kate Garraway has poignantly remembered the last day of normality before husband Derek Draper was rushed to hospital with a severe case of Covid-10.

The Good Morning Britain host says “the heart of the family has been ripped out” by Derek’s prolonged stay in intensive care, where he’s been since March 29 with no sign that he’ll be discharged any time soon.

Their children – Darcey, 14, and 11-year-old Billy – haven’t seen their dad in nearly six months as only Kate is allowed to visit him in hospital very occasionally.

And Derek is believed to be one of only five people in the world to have survived with such a severe case of the coronavirus, which has ravaged his body and left him with organ, cell and blood vessel damage.

Kate recalled the day before Derek’s dramatic dash to hospital by ambulance when things still seemed normal – they’d dropped Billy at a dance class and Darcey was with friends, so the couple decided to treat themselves to brunch.

“We had such a lovely time – we’d been waiting ages to put in sliding patio doors to our back garden – not a very rock and roll or romantic topic for brunch, I know, but we were so excited about the chance to make plans,” she told You magazine.

“After we discussed that, Derek said, ‘I fear a lockdown is coming; while we’re in isolation it’s a good time to print out the photos of the kids to put on the wall.’ So then we went to B&Q to get some picture frames.”

Just a day later, Derek started feeling unwell and initially thought it was due to painkillers he was taking for a shoulder injury, as he had none of the official symptoms of Covid-19, such as a cough or temperature.

As his condition deteriorated, a desperate Kate rang GMB’s resident GP Dr Hilary Jones, who listened to Derek’s breath on the phone and told Kate to dial 999. Derek was blue-lighted to hospital where initially he seemed to be doing well and was even still able to communicate with Kate on the phone.

“One of the last texts I have from him says, ‘The doctor says the lung X-ray is looking positive, I’m definitely not going to die,'” Kate revealed.

But within hours, Derek got worse and was able to send his wife one last text that read: “I love you, you’ve saved my life.”

Kate was warned by doctors Derek might not pull through, and he was put into a coma to give his lungs the best chance of surviving the onslaught as the deadly virus ripped through his organs.

It wasn’t until weeks later that Kate was finally able to see him on FaceTime, where she was shocked by his gaunt appearance.

He had lost eight stone and had dark circles under his eyes, as well as tubes everywhere, and was still deeply unconscious.

In July, Derek finally started showing signs of coming out of his coma, but remains in a minimally conscious state since then.

As a tragic reminder of what she’s lost, the frames they bought together are still stacked in the hallway as Kate can’t work out how to use the printer.

But she’s determined to remain strong for her family, explaining how the kids use FaceTime to let their dad know what they’re up to day-to-day, and has taken an extra week off GMB to get Billy ready for secondary school.

“I’m always thinking how would Derek help Billy; he was so brilliant at all of that,” Kate added.

“I imagine all the conversations he’d be having with Derek – it’s heartbreaking to think they may never be having them again.”