Kate Garraway estimates she's £800,000 in debt after death of husband Derek Draper
Kate Garraway estimates she's £800,000 in debt after death of husband Derek Draper
Kate Garraway has spoken out on her astronomical debts following the death of her husband, Derek Draper.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was left heartbroken in January when Draper died at the age of 56, having contracted Covid-19 in March 2020 and faced a series of health struggles in the years following.
Draper spent nearly 100 days in a coma and remained in need of round-the-clock care until he died, both from medical professionals and his loved ones at home.
This included his two teenage children: Darcey, 18, and 14-year-old Billy.
Kate, also 56, had their family home adapted once Draper was discharged from hospital but has now detailed the costs of doing so, estimating her debts to be between 500,000-800,000.
In a new interview with The Times, Kate shared an insight into her beloved late husband's last days and the huge amounts forked out on his rehabilitative therapies.
'It's supposed to be a system that's meant to catch you if you fall,' she said of the care system.
'But actually, it feels like it's trying to catch you out. You feel like you're in the dock answering questions about things that will literally mean life or death to someone you love.
'Derek's needs were clearly so great, yet he didn't warrant funded care-so you think, "If he isn't getting it, then who is?"'
She added: 'To be fair to them, no one's contacted me since he's passed away to ask for that. They may well still do, but they haven't as yet.
'The bigger picture of the further appeals I haven't addressed yet, because I'm still in survival mode.'
Before Draper died, Kate already owed debts above 700,000, which were incurred by his psychotherapeutic company's failure, with Kate possessing no legal authority to administer his business affairs when he became unwell.
Reflecting on her final moments with Draper over Christmas and New Year, Kate recalled flying over to Mexico to collect him from a pioneering brain cell clinic, where his neural pathways showed 'massive' improvement following treatment.
This was also the first time Draper felt up to seeing his friends in four years, having been excited to get back to London.
'We were in a very different place, health-wise, from the year before-and it felt like the happiest place,' Kate said.
She added that they 'had more of Derek back' and, despite being well aware that 'his injuries could take him', overall, things felt 'so positive at that point' and losing him 'was the furthest from [her] mind'.
Devastatingly, when Kate called the clinic to say she'd landed to collect him, they told her that he had died of a cardiac arrest during her flight.
As she clambered into a car, Kate was told they had restarted his heart, but blood clots began circulating into Draper's unconscious brain soon after.
He underwent 14 hours of neurosurgery in Mexico before being transported home with his wife to an intensive care unit in London, at which point she knew he would never regain consciousness.
Despite being reassured by doctors, Kate and her children had heard those words of encouragement before.
Kate then had to make the difficult judgement of when to stop telling her kids that there was no longer hope, given how they had been there for their dad through each health crisis before.
Unsure if Draper could even hear them, they continued vowing to fight for him, but reminded him that he 'didn't have to hold on for them'.
On January 3, with his wife and children by his bedside, Draper 'slipped away'.
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