Kate Garraway has confirmed that her husband, Derek Draper, has returned home after spending more than a year in hospital being treated for coronavirus.
Mr Draper, a former political advisor, was admitted to hospital in March with Covid-19 symptoms before eventually being placed in a coma.
The 53-year-old’s condition and the impact it was having on his family (the couple have two children together, Darcey, 15, Billy, 11) was explored in depth in an ITV documentary, Finding Derek, which aired last month.
Now, speaking on Good Morning Britain about her husband’s return, Garraway has described it as “amazing” to have him back.
“As we pulled up... I saw two little faces, Darcey and Billy looking out the window, and I could literally see them going, ‘He’s here’,” she said.
“And they ran out and ran to open the door and he immediately burst into tears and there was a lot of hugging...
“He absolutely knew he was home,” she said. He’s absolutely responding and aware.”
Garraway went on to explain how they managed to have a family dinner together because he can swallow food now.
“It just feels like the start of a huge chapter but a really big and important one,” she added.
The GMB host also revealed how Mr Draper being at home will aid his recovery, noting that he has a new team for him now because he needs 24/7 care.
“On top of the care side there’s also the very specialised therapeutic intervention,” she continued.
“He’s definitely plateaued at this level and obviously we’re hugely grateful for this level and not losing but him we really want to see if we can move forward and get home speaking more and able to move more.”
