Kate Garraway has revealed she nearly suffered a heart attack from the stress of caring for her Covid-stricken husband.
Derek Draper, 56, suffered severe complications from contracting the virus in March 2020 and now requires round-the-clock care.
In a new interview, the GMB presenter shared that she was rushed to hospital with severe chest pains in a terrifying ordeal, in November last year.
Kate revealed that she knew something was wrong after waking up in the middle of the night unable to move her arm.
Despite also vomiting and developing excruciating chest pains, Kate still made her way to the GMB studios to present her show.
The TV star also revealed that it was a phone call with the show's Dr Hilary Jones that convinced her to go straight to the hospital, as he warned Kate she was too sick to go on air.
Kate told the Sunday Times how she had pleaded with GMB bosses not to send her to A&E for fear of missing work.
"I'll never get back in time to present the show," she protested to an editor who responded: "You're not going to do the show."
After Kate was rushed to hospital for urgent tests, including an ECG, she was then told that proteins were detected in her blood that are usually a sign of a heart attack.
The cardiologist warned her that while she wasn't having a "heart attack right now," it could be stress related angina.
After she returned 12 hours later, she was told that she didn't seem "strong enough" to undergo stress tests to find out more about her condition.
The medical emergency came after two and a half years of stress over her husband Derek's condition, as Kate confessed, his health battle has made her a "shell of a person."
At the beginning of the pandemic, the couple had both contracted the disease, but while Kate suffered mild symptoms, Derek was so unwell he had to be placed into a medically induced coma.
As he battled to stay alive, Kate's husband suffered brain inflammation, kidney failure, damage to his liver and pancreas.
His heart also stopped working multiple times, and he lost eight stone and was left with holes in his lungs from repeat infections.
Speaking to the Times at the time, Kate had said: "The very worst moment was when they said he could be locked in forever. And I just thought, this is a horror story. I don't know if he'll ever have any kind of life again. We just don't know."
In July 2020, Derek had a breakthrough when he regained consciousness from his coma, allowing him to see Kate for the first time in four months.
After another difficult six months in hospital, Derek was finally allowed home, with Kate now having to care for her disabled husband.
The TV presenter has been busy making their home accessible for him by installing a wheelchair ramp and converting the garage into a ground floor wet room.
Derek now has a special bedroom for all of his medical equipment as he requires 24-hour care.
Kate has now written a book about her experience, called The Strength of Love: Embracing an Uncertain Future with Resilience and Optimism, which will be published on Thursday.
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