Kate Garraway reveals crippling cost of caring for Derek amid three year Covid battle

ok.co.uk:

Good Morning Britain's much-loved presenter Kate Garraway has revealed the shocking financial cost of caring for her husband Derek, who has remained seriously ill since contracting long-Covid three years ago.

Speaking to The Sun this week, the mum-of-two, 55, described everyday as a "roller-coaster", unsure whether Derek's health will improve or decline from one day to the next.

Bravely describing Derek's "fluctuating" condition as "heartbreaking", Kate insists that her role as an on-screen star provides no benefit when it comes to receiving the best level of care possible. "Perhaps there is the assumption that because I’m on the telly, and because people have heard so much of Derek’s story — and he has touched so many hearts — that we’ve had special treatment from the NHS or bypassed waiting lists," she explains. "We haven’t jumped any queues, which is just as it should be.There are only so many resources, and we are still waiting on referrals from almost three years ago." Kate also described the tear-jerking financial impact of caring for her political aid partner - whom she married in 2005 - understandably describing her predicament as "tough" and revealing that "costs go through the roof in so many ways".The daytime TV newsreader - who shares daughter Darcey, 16, and son William ['Billy'], 13, with Derek - explained that his unexpected Long Covid diagnosis has forced her to "make changes" to her home and has affected her "ability to work". "I had to take long periods off when Derek was first sick, and of course if affects the overall income for the family as he can no longer work," she explains.