ITV viewers were left in tears on Tuesday as they were given an insight into Derek Draper's last moments with wife Kate Garraway and their two children - and his carer had a few words to say about his own experience.
Derek's former carer Jake was part of the round-the-clock help hired to take care of the 56-year-old and the job took such a toll on him that he decided to step back following the lobbyist's death in early 2024.
Speaking up in the one-off special Kate Garraway: Derek's Story, Jake recounted his own last moments with Derek Draper: "I was wondering if he really, really knew how much it was important for all of us to enjoy these moments with him."
Derek Draper needed round-the-clock help from health professionals, which included a carer named Jake"For me, it was work, it was difficult and I’m tired and everything but I always had that joy", he added before sadly revealing: "I miss him."
Once he opened up, a text appeared on screen to let viewers know that Jake had stepped down from his caring duties following Derek Draper's death but nothing confirmed that this was a permanent decision on his part.
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Derek and Jake had shared a close bond, as viewers may have witnessed, and the former political advisor had even asked his carer not to leave him on multiple occasions, as highlighted by Kate herself.
Jake was also present by Derek's side as he was admitted into hospital nine days before his death in January, 2024, four years after originally contracting COVID-19, which resulted in his heart muscles weakening.
Derek Draper's former carer Jake detailed his last moments with the lobbyist (Kate Garraway/Instagram)"They went out of sync and this created a blood clot of massive proportions", Kate recalled before revealing that the clot had reached Derek's brain and caused irreparable damage.
A devastated Kate remembered how consultants told her that Derek was facing an impasse and said: "I sat down with him, holding his hand, I just said to him, ‘Look you know me I’m going to fight this all the way but if you can’t fight anymore then actually what you need now is peace then don’t think about us, we’re going to be fine.'"
Derek was laid to rest one month after his passing, in early February, 2024, following a ceremony held in the same church he and his wife tied the knot in September, 2005. But while TV watchers were left in tears by the many revelations made throughout the documentary, they were left in shock as Kate revealed she had faced her own health scare during Derek's battle with COVID-19.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was taken to hospital herself as she suffered from chest pains, as her friend and manager Claire recounted in Kate Garraway: Derek's Story.
Kate Garraway faced her own health scare as she took care of her late husband"Kate was on her way here, and she had pains in her chest and throw up over herself in the car", Claire explained, "the phone call was like, 'Kate is in hospital' so naturally your mind goes, 'Kate is in hospital with Derek'. 'No, no, no, Kate is in hospital'. Oh my god, what has gone wrong here?"
Despite needing care herself, Kate Garraway had no other choice but to head back to work as Derek's lengthy list of needs cost her a fortune, particularly without any Government funding.
"Derek's care costs more than my salary for my TV, and that's before you've paid for a mortgage, before you've paid for any household bills, before you've paid for kids - so, we are at a crunch point", Kate said. "I am in debt and I can't earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek's care", she then admitted.
In her book, The Strength Of Love (2023), Kate detailed how terrified she had been during her ordeal, while she crumbled under pressure and emotional weight of taking care of her ill husband.
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At the time, Kate had been awakened to the 2am alarm she sets each night for her daily commute to the Good Morning Britain set - and she was unable to move to switch it off.
"There was a searing pain in my chest — as though someone had punched their fist through my breastbone, snatched hold of my heart and squeezed", reminisced Kate. "The pain was sharp and excruciating. Then I realised that it wasn't a sudden onset of pain. It had been there all the time. My temporary paralysis had distracted me."
"Then came the thought, "Oh God, was I having a heart attack?". But why was my body reacting like this? Could I be so desperate to help Derek that I'd started having sympathy pains?"
Kate then threw up on her way to work before being immediately taken to A&E upon her arrival, where a doctor ruled out a heart attack.
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