Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper has been getting "short bursts of fresh air" to aid his recovery in recent weeks.
Kate Garraway's husband Derek Draper has been getting 'short bursts of fresh air' to aid his recovery in recent weeks
The 'Good Morning Britain' presenter is said to be "really hoping" her 55-year-old significant other - who still needs round-the-clock care after he suffered significant organ damage when he contracted COVID in 2020 - can "build on" the trips outside with his nurse.
A family friend told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Over the last couple of weeks Derek's been going in and out of hospital for a number of ongoing appointments and tests, as a number of referrals he has been waiting for since his first release from hospital in April 2021 have come through.
"Even though he can only sit for very short periods of time, the medical teams are now very keen he gets short bursts of fresh air with his nurse to aid his recovery.
"Derek’s friends and Kate are really hoping he can build on this."
Derek went into hospital in March 2020 and was placed into a medically-induced coma.
He later returned home in April 2021, but still needs 24/7 care.
Earlier this month, Kate admitted watching Derek battle through his illness has made her "fall in love with him all over again".
She told The Sun newspaper: "There are some days where he literally cannot do anything and it’s like the computer is switched off.
“He cannot move, and he’s in so much pain as we are manipulating him, trying to get him more mobile so that he doesn’t regress.
“I always ask him if he wants to stop, and he grunts ‘no. no’.
“It is unbearable, and it makes me emotional even talking about it.
“But it also makes me fall in love with him all over again because of that spirit, that determination to keep going.
“Derek is trapped, but he fights on. We cling on to the good days.”
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