Kate Garraway was told her husband Derek Draper would have "very little chance" of a "meaningful recovery" from coronavirus if he hadn't made progress within two years.
Kate Garraway
The 'Good Morning Britain' co-host was given the prognosis by her husband's neurologist, after Derek had been struck down with COVID-19.
Despite defeating coronavirus - which he contracted in March 2020 - Derek is still battling the after-effects, but has continued his recovery with 24/7 care at home since April 7th, after spending more than a year in hospital.
Speaking about her previous discussion with the physician, 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.
"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.' "
Kate has admitted the timescale left her "winded" as she had been "living by the minute", and was wondering if he would "be alive" when she visited him in hospital last year.
In her book, 'The Power Of Hope', she added: "'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."
In April, Kate admitted her and Derek's children, Darcey, 15, and 11-year-old Billy, were "besides themselves to have him home".
She said: "He isn’t really able to speak at the moment so he can’t tell them off, I have to be the bad guy!
"They are besides themselves to have him home. They are my heroes.
"They know instinctively how to talk to him but not ask too much from him.
"In a way that grown-ups want to see the old Derek, they have an instinct, there is a lot of love there."
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