‘MY KIDS keep me going'

With her husband Derek Draper still in hospital after contracting coronavirus in March, Kate Garraway tells Woman’s Own columnist Richard Arnold what Christmas will look like this year

- Richard Arnold

Hi Kate. How is Derek?

It’s just a roller coaster, really, Richard. There are things that have improved and other things that have come into play and caused a problem. It’s a long, slow recovery. I think if I look back three months, then yes, things are better, but the thing is that because this is a new disease, a new virus, nobody has experience of the full impact of it – either medically or in real life. There are few people who have been as dramatically affected as Derek and survived, so he is very lucky to be alive. It’s really just about getting incredible care from the doctors and hoping that the tide will turn.

How are the family?

It’s tough. It’s a long time to be separated from a parent you love. If your dad was working abroad and you couldn’t see him in that time, and you couldn’t FaceTime or call, then that would feel like a very long time, plus children’s sense of time is different. I remember asa child it being February and feeling like Christmas was a lifetime away. Now, at my age, it happens in the blink of an eye – but for them it’s a seriously long time. So many big things have happened – Bill, 11, has started secondary school and Darcey, 14, her GSCEs. There’s a continual sadness and worry, and not really knowing what to deal with.