Kate Garraway…..Caring for Derek

[GorgonzolaSouffle]

She’s so brave making this documentary.

I hope this isn’t insensitive but why is Derek so badly affected? Is it due to organ damage, was his brain affected?

@GorgonzolaSouffle

She’s so brave making this documentary.

I agree, but I suspect she also needs the money. Their family income will have been greatly reduced, and his care and treatment must be costing a fortune.

@GorgonzolaSouffle Yes, you could see the shock on Ben's face as he noticed the state of the house. I wonder just how well Kate is coping. The whole family looked like they needed someone to go in and take over, take care of the everyday things, look after them and let Kate get on with looking after Derek and working, as obviously all that responsibility must also be on her shoulders now too. They look such a loving family, I really hope Derek improves.

@Candleabra

I hope this isn’t insensitive but why is Derek so badly affected? Is it due to organ damage, was his brain affected?

I think several of his organs were effected including neurological damage. Whole body just devastated by covid.

God I felt for that family tonight and I hope the naysayers about covid just being a cold will watch and change their minds. I wanted to scoop Kate up and look after her, I am not sure this will have the ending she wished for but I send all the hope in the world to her and anyone else in a similar situation.

I think she will come to the conclusion on her own that it’s in her husbands best interests to be cared for in a nursing home. I hope in time she finds a boyfriend or partner and I’m sure Derek would want that for her too. He will just gradually deteriorate. The brain scans were likened to those seen in vascular dementia patients.
I thought it was so beautiful to see the love between them all.
I remember a lovely husband who would come into the care home twice a week and was devoted to his wife who had dementia. Turns out he had a girlfriend at home for many years. I think that’s true love, to do what’s best for your spouse while not letting life pass you by yourself, I’m these circumstances.

It’s so hard for Kate. I also recognise her tone of voice because I realised I was using it with my mum when she was first diagnosed with dementia.

@AthenaPopodopoulos I agree about the nursing home. I think that was going through Ben's mind too, when he asked if she really thought Derek was happy in the front room. I hope I'm wrong, but I also don't think this is going to have the outcome she wants. Absolute nightmare for all of them.

It is shocking to think the nhs discharge you and really you’re left - left to figure it all out and fight for everything.

I also think that she is doing what she needs to keep earning after losing half of her household and being off so long herself - can't blame her for that at all. I have a lot of admiration for her but also find it uncomfortable viewing.

I have huge respect for her - I hear her on the radio working away as usual and I think it must take a heroic level of strength to support the family financially while caring for the person who would usually be sharing the load but never will again.

I found it hard to watch. She looked exhausted but full of love. Their children were a credit to them both. A loving family, torn apart. She's gone up hugely in my estimation.

I think she is very brave. That is what being a carer looks like and she is brave to be the one to show it. Its uncomfortable to watch because it's not a comfortable situation to be in

She's also done these documentaries to shine a light on the other 6 million carers in this country. She's amazing and an inspiration. I think she's right to try this treatment, we all would wouldn't we? But I do hope, if it doesn't work, that she lets others care for Derek so she can have more time for herself and her children.

This hits so close to home for me, my brother is currently being supported on an ECMO machine after coming down with covid beginning of December. He'd become a father again 3 weeks before he was admitted and my sister in law has since had to manage a newborn, a 4 year old and the prospect of what the future will hold. Covid for most might be mild but for some like Derek and my brother, it ravages the body in an instant. We as a family are trying to support her as much as we can so she can catch up with sleep, cry, have the baby taken off her and chores she can't keep on top off. It's absolutely devastating for all of us and still trying to continue everyday without breaking down is the hardest part.

@TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo

Does anyone find it a little uncomfortable the amount of footage she shared of derek presumably without his permission.

I'm not sure I would want to recover from such serious illness and find out it had been documented and broadcast to the country.

(Not to say I don't think she is doing an incredible job. It just sits a bit uneasy with me)

She clearly asked for his consent at the beginning of the programme, asked if he wanted to carry on filming. He clearly says yes to this.

To the people criticising Kate for showing clips of Derek not looking well, Her husband is only having this treatment because one of the doctors watched the 1st documentary and realised that he could potentially help Derek. If the first documentary was never made, he would not be receiving this treatment.

She isn't just trying to raise awareness of Derek's situation, there are other people in the UK who Kate has been in touch with i similar situations. She is trying to show what Covid is capable of, raise awareness on how difficult it currently is for some people with long covid and their families and to help to find treatments, not just for Derek but for others in a similar state.

@prettymum, that is so unbelievably sad. I can't imagine the physical and emotional stress you're all under, especially your brother and his wife.

@prettymum I am so sorry to read this. Sending all the best to your brother, his wife any children, and all of your family. Hope he is able to overcome this.

*and children.
(Sorry)

She’s wonderful for trying to make things work by bringing Derek home. If it doesn’t work out though it would be completely understandable. It looks exhausting and overwhelming.
If her daughter was ever to end up in this situation, I wonder what Kate would want for her?

@Candleabra

I hope this isn’t insensitive but why is Derek so badly affected? Is it due to organ damage, was his brain affected?

Brain AND organs...

Once the brain is affected, everything else will follow.

@prettymum

This hits so close to home for me, my brother is currently being supported on an ECMO machine after coming down with covid beginning of December. He'd become a father again 3 weeks before he was admitted and my sister in law has since had to manage a newborn, a 4 year old and the prospect of what the future will hold. Covid for most might be mild but for some like Derek and my brother, it ravages the body in an instant. We as a family are trying to support her as much as we can so she can catch up with sleep, cry, have the baby taken off her and chores she can't keep on top off. It's absolutely devastating for all of us and still trying to continue everyday without breaking down is the hardest part.

Very difficult to watch - her desperate hope that he'll find some sort of recovery in the face of such profound loss of everything that made him who he was.
And yes, it seemed as if she needed good friends who would help her sort things out. Her house must have been literally turned upside down and along with the immense practical challenges of caring, running a family, her career and everything else. I worried about where she got her own support from (as that lovely carer pointed out).
Massive respect for her.