Derek Draper contracted sepsis after a kidney infection (Picture: itv / rex)
Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper is back in hospital battling sepsis after she opened up on the pressures of caring for him at home.
The presenter, 55, has been a carer for Derek, also 55, since he was released from hospital following his near-fatal battle with Covid-19, which affected several of his organs and left him needing round-the-clock care.
Kate, who is set to attend the National Television Awards on Thursday after being nominated for her second documentary on Derek’s battle, revealed her husband is once again in hospital for life-threatening sepsis.
She told The Sun: ‘Derek is back in hospital after developing sepsis that again threatened his life and we are again fighting to get him home.’
Kate added: ‘When Caring for Derek was nominated, I was of course very honoured but I had mixed feelings about asking people to vote for the film. I was worried and guilty about asking for more support when so many have already sent their good wishes.
‘But now too many have got in touch saying “please shout it from the rooftops” for me to ignore You see, I am one of the lucky ones.
Derek has needed round-the-clock care since contracting Covid-19 at the start of the pandemic (Picture: ITV)
Kate has been a carer for her husband since he returned home after a year in hospital (Picture: ITV)
‘Not only did I pray every night for months when Derek’s life hung in the balance to have the chance to care for him, also I have supportive employers and family and friends to help. Millions care day in day out alone.’
Derek is one of the most-affected cases of coronavirus to have survived but has faced several health battles since being released from hospital a year after being admitted at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
He had faced sepsis in August after developing a kidney infection which led to dangerous complications.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection.
It happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body’s own tissues and organs.
You cannot catch sepsis from another person.
Sepsis is sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning.
Symptoms in adults and children:
High/Low temperature
Uncontrolled shivering
Confusion
Passing little urine/diarrhoea
Blotchy or cold arms and legs
Other symptoms in children may include:
Nausea and vomiting
Severe muscle pain
Severe breathlessness
Loss of consciousness
Very lethargic or difficult to wake
Breathing very fast
Fit or convulsion
Derek was at risk of losing a kidney after contracting sepsis but was able to be moved from intensive care to a high-dependency unit.
Kate said at the time: ‘I got a phone call from the person who was looking after him saying, “Right, we’re really worried”. I whizzed home and it just sort of went boom from there.
‘We called an ambulance, went to A&E, where they said he had very severe sepsis, life-threatening sepsis. So it was really dramatic.’
She revealed that his blood pressure was very low and medics had to find the source of the infection to be able to treat it.
‘Unfortunately, his kidneys were really badly infected, blocked,’ Kate revealed. ‘The challenge now is to save them. So that’s where we’ve been for the last three weeks.’
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He has been battling a kidney infection.