Kate Garraway has revealed how a doctor told her "there is very little chance" of her husband Derek Draper "making any meaningful recovery" if there isn't any progress two years on from him getting Covid-19.
The 54-year-old's husband was admitted to hospital last March and put into an induced coma after suffering badly from the virus.
Now back home, but dealing with the effects of long Covid, Kate has detailed a conversation she had with Derek's neurologist in her new book, the Power Of Hope.
The GMB presenter got emotional when talking about her new book and Derek during an interview with Lorraine recently. You can read more on this here.
According to the Daily Star, the doctor, who she refers to as Dr W, told her that "time and waiting are your friends" because he "had never seen anything like this before so can't personally chart the recovery".
The presenter then pressed the expert on how much time he was referring to, but she was shocked by his answer.
Writing in her book, she said: "I had already waited so long. 'How long before you know more? Not how long will it take for him to recover, because you don't know if he can even recover, but how long before you might know more?'
"It was a confusing question, but I knew what I meant and he seemed to as well."
Kate continued: "After another long pause, he looked straight at me, then away. 'Well, Kate' – the first time he had used my name – 'I think it's fair to say if he is still like this after two years we will know there is very little chance of him making any meaningful recovery.'
"TWO YEARS!" I screamed inside my head.
"Up until now I had been living by the minute, hours on the phone monitoring infection levels and statistics, trying to get a handle on where Derek was, wondering every time I went to sleep if he would still be alive in the morning.
"How could I go on like this for another two years? Worse still, how could Derek be trapped like this for two years? The timescale winded me and I'm sure I must have slumped a bit in the chair."
Kate then revealed that another doctor told her that "the long, slow recovery is sometimes just as hard to bear".
According to the presenter, the expert said: "Derek is still very sick, at serious risk of dying. But even if he can live, and begin to recover from the huge damage Covid has wreaked throughout his body, it's not going to be quick.
"Progress is now going to be measured not in minutes, hours or days but in weeks, months and years.
