Kate Garraway made desperate 12-hour flight to the UK with husband Derek Draper in a bid to save his life

Draper died earlier this week

Garraway confirmed the death of her "darling husband" on Friday after she had taken Draper to Mexico to receive specialist treatment.

The Good Morning Britain star had returned to London to care for their two children however while getting a connecting flight inside Mexico last month, she was told he had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Draper, who sustained brain, kidney and liver damage after contracting Covid back in March 2020, was stabilised and put on a medical-evacuation plane for the 12-hour trip home. Garraway was on the flight back with him.

She and their two children spent Christmas with the former political advisor before he passed away earlier this week.

A source told The Sun: "It’s been an unbelievably gruelling eight weeks for Kate, and how she is still going is quite remarkable.

"Derek and Kate made the trip to Mexico in November. They did it without fanfare as they didn’t want to get up everyone’s hopes.

"The treatment went incredibly well, and his doctor and all the consultants were hugely optimistic about his long-term progress, and future.

"Unfortunately as Kate excitedly returned to bring Derek home he suffered a cardiac arrest.

"Doctors confirmed this could have happened at any point over the last four years due to the damage to Derek’s organs inflicted by Covid. Quite simply, it was unavoidable.

"Kate was by his side in intensive care in Mexico and worked with Derek’s UK consultants who oversaw his treatment and his return, which was a military operation.

"Under his UK doctor’s guidance, he was flown home by medevac — a specialist and extremely costly, air ambulance — to be put in intensive care at aLondon hospital.

"This in itself was a huge undertaking and ordeal.

"Unfortunately, despite the doctors in Mexico getting his heart beating stably again, Covid damage meant further complications ultimately affected his chance of recovery."

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