DEREK Draper repeatedly labelled himself “pathetic” as he struggled to get out of his wheelchair, before bursting into tears. It was one of the many emotional moments that broke fans’ hearts in the nation’s longest-suffering Covid patient’s final documentary – Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story. The heartbreaking moment Derek Draper labelled himself ‘pathetic’ aired on TV tonight It was in the emotional new doc Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story The doc tells Derek’s story ‘in his words’ Credit: Rex It’s filled with dozens of sweet – and heartwrenching – moments Credit: ITV The doc aired tonight, with Derek finally getting a chance to tell his story “in his voice”. Tragically, he never lived to see it broadcast – the dad-of-two died in January. The documentary showed how Kate stood by Derek’s side through his health battle – and looked back to their early years together. It showed sweet moments between the dad and his children, as well as heart-wrenching moments. At one point Derek can be seen working with his mobility therapist Cornel, who’s encouraging him to stand up out of the wheelchair he was bound to. The dad can be seen working to try stand with the help of his walking frame. The mobility therapist says encouragingly: “One, two, three and push – I’m not helping you much. “I don’t want to help you too much, I don’t want to pull you up off the seat.” But after Derek as he makes the first attempt at standing, he falls back into the chair and begins to wail. His wife Kate, 56, comforts him: “It’s OK, darling – it is OK, I promise.” ‘He was on the up’ say heartbroken viewers as they hear Kate Garraway’s husband Derek speak weeks before his death Derek responds: “It’s pathetic.” Kate continues: “It’s not pathetic, it isn’t pathetic. You are absolutely trying.” Derek attempts to stand two further times, as Kate adds more encouragement: “You can take a breath, but keep going. You’re there. Well done! Keep going.” But he fails to make the move, leaving him upset. Kate later tells the cameras: “I want Derek to have less care, but in order for Derek to get to that point, you need support.” Another part of the doc shares sweet unseen footage of Kate and Derek’s children at their dad’s bedside. In one of the clips, Kate suggests her son Billy and Derek read out birthday cards she’d been sent. Derek can be seen reading out one of the cards, and smirking at the sweet message. Derek’s care costs more than my salary. Kate Garraway Billy then reads out one of the birthday wishes, before Derek skims over another. The dad says: “It’s from the neighbour Maggie.” Billy then jokingly replies: “Well read it out, you can’t just say who it’s from.” In another tender moment, daughter Darcey is snapped helping Kate while Derek is in a wheelchair. The mum says: “Darcey, can you help me lift dad’s leg a little bit? Thank you.” The teen can be seen helping her dad stand, and carefully helping him sit back down. She then sweetly says: “There you go.” Before helping her father into bed by swinging his legs around. Derek’s desperation Speaking to Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid on Good Morning
Britain today, an emotional Kate revealed how Derek was frustrated by his restricted way of life. She said it was “horrific” listening to his shrieks of anger and wishes he would have “stopped” and been at peace for the remainder of his life. “He wanted to continue and he had to fight on and progress because that was his purpose,” she explained. “He felt like a total failure and an incredible burden on the carers, the system, us. “It didn’t matter what we said, he felt that burden. “He wanted to be a contributor and, I guess, making this documentary was his way of saying: ‘I’m going to speak up for the people that supported me’. “The family, but also those around me and people within the care system – administrators who tried to make things work. “Because the system is broken, there’s no doubt about that.” Young Darcy then walks around her father’s hospital bed, passing pillows from a nearby seat to her mum. The teen helped carry her father’s coffin at his funeral last month. Kate also revealed that paying for her late husband’s at-home care put her into debt. Derek required round-the-clock help from care workers, as well as therapists to help him with his movement and speech, as part of his recovery. He became one of the most severely affected Covid-19 patients back in 2020 when, after being put into a coma for 98 days, was left suffering from a number of ongoing, life-threatening conditions. But despite his lengthy list of needs, the mum and her family were denied any Government funding, meaning the TV presenter had to hire in help at a large cost to the family. She told the cameras: “Derek’s care costs more than my salary for my TV, and that’s before you’ve paid for a mortgage, before you’ve paid for any household bills, before you’ve paid for kids – so, we are at a crunch point. “I am in debt and I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care. “I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery, because it’s going on the basics all the time. “I’m not going to pretend by the way that I am poorly paid, I have an incredible
Job that I love that is well paid, but it’s not enough.” Kate Garraway’s crippling financial battle over Derek’s care By JAMES LIVERIS KATE Garraway’s unfaltering love and care for her late husband has touched millions of hearts across Britain over the years. But behind her courageous efforts to provide round-the-clock support for Derek Draper was a tide of crippling bills costing more than £16,000 a month. For three years, Derek – who was put in a coma for 98 days after contracting Covid-19 in 2020 – battled a number of ongoing, life-threatening conditions before dying aged 56 in January. During that time, he became so ill that Kate was forced to convert their £4million north
London home into a virtual field hospital. Unable to receive public health funding, the Good Morning Britain star was shelling out herself for expensive treatments, including a hyperbaric oxygen tent she hoped might restore her husband’s severely damaged lung function. But the costs soon began to pile up for courageous Kate, who is believed to earn around £544,000 a year from her work with ITV. Now, the mum-of-two is laying her financial troubles bare in the documentary, Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, which exposes how families caring for seriously ill loved ones at home are routinely left underfunded. The tear-jerking show, which airs tonight, follows Derek’s final year and reveals that his basic care had cost a minimum of £576,000 since 2020. Kate – who is mum to Darcey, aged 17, and Billy, aged 11 – admits on the show: “How can anybody afford £16,000 a month? “Derek’s care costs more than my salary. And that’s before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay for any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids. “I am in debt and I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care. “I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery because it’s going on the basics all the time.” Publisher