Kate Garraway has opened up about her fear that she may need to give up her job on Good Morning Britain to become husband Derek's full-time carer.
Derek, 53, has spent the last 12 months in hospital after contracting coronavirus in March 2020 and was put in an induced coma.
However Derek, who has been described as having the worst Covid infection than any living patient, shocked doctors when he uttered his first word in October.
Yet Derek has a way to go yet before he is able to return home and in an utterly heartbreaking ITV documentary airing this evening, Kate speaks about what is next for her husband.
“The only thing that panics me is that we are on such a rollercoaster with Derek," she says. "That I was sort of looking around doing all this chaos and then the next week there'll be a phone call to say something's gone backwards so you sort of think gosh, am I just fooling myself, I suppose."
Kate, who is making adjustments to her home with Derek to facilitate him being in a wheelchair, also admits that she "fears the reality" of there being a "different dynamic" to their relationship.
Speaking to son Bill, 11, she says: "You know that we are hoping that dad will get better and better, but when he comes home he will probably need to be in a wheelchair, so we are trying to make it so he can do all this.
"And if I have to give up work to care for him then it is best to do it now when I am earning money.
"If he needs 24-hour care I will be the primary carer. I have a fear of the reality of that life. It is a completely different dynamic to our relationship."
Questioned on what tomorrow looks like for herself and her family, Kate says: “I just don't know, but y'know there is a tomorrow that I believe in. And hope isn't actually a wish, It is believing that with love you can have something that has purpose and wonder about it."
Throughout the documentary, Kate and Derek are seen speaking to one another in heart-wrenching chats on FaceTime.
Derek is tearful as he hears Kate's voice, telling him how proud she is of him and shows him the children.
In another candid moment, Derek tells Kate that he fears that there is "no way out" and begins to cry.
But Kate promises that she will "save him" and pleads with him to "hang in there".
At the end of the documentary, Derek is seen telling Kate on screen: "Thanks you and I love you forever and a day.”
Derek is still continuing his rehab and doctors have extended the option of keeping him in hospital until December 2021.
*Kate Garraway: Finding Derek airs tonight at 9pm on ITV
