Harvey’s hospital dash
When Harvey started to complain of chest pains during his sister’s 13th birthday celebrations, mum Katie Price called an ambulance…
To watch, helpless, as your own child becomes poorly is every mother’s nightmare – and it was Katie Price’s reality very recently.
A scene of joyful family celebration quickly turned to panic, as Katie’s oldest son, Harvey, 18, fell ill at his sister Princess’s birthday party, which was being held in the former glamour model’s rented Surrey mansion.
The 42-year-old, who had Harvey with former Man Utd footballer Dwight Yorke, called an ambulance, and watched with concern as he was put on to a stretcher by a masked medic, wheeled into an ambulance and driven to hospital.
Harvey, who Katie has described as ‘my world’, has a series of complex needs – so it must have been doubly terrifying to imagine her already vulnerable son being whisked away to hospital, during the pandemic.
The terrified mother-offive called 999, as soon as she realised her first child – who had had his own party celebrations on 13 June – needed urgent care.
‘I called an ambulance…’ Katie recalled later. ‘Harvey has complex needs and kept complaining of chest pain, so I asked him how it felt.’
‘It’s like needles,’ her son replied.
‘He is at high risk due to his obesity and the steroid he’s on,’ Katie continued. ‘The ambulance came, and his temperature and bloods were normal. The problem was when they pressed down on Harvey’s chest, it hurt. It could have been a blood clot so, for safety, they took him to hospital. It seems he has a chest infection coming. Luckily, he’s home now – and he’s happy to be home. I’m glad.’
Lying on a sofa behind his mother as she spoke, Harvey appeared exhausted.
The 18-year-old has Prader-Willi syndrome (a rare genetic condition which causes dangerous overeating and learning disabilities). He also suffers from septooptic dysplasia, which causes blindness, diabetes, an underactive thyroid and autism. It also affects growth.
The teenager has been living in a residential care home since last year – a heartbreaking decision Katie made, as she was struggling to cope, though Harvey still comes home for weekends and during school holidays.
The tearful mum confessed during an appearance on This Morning, ‘He is now 6ft 2in, 24st and he’s still growing, and he kicks off. I love him so much, he’s my life, but he’s hard work…’
For now, Harvey is recovering in Surrey with his mum. ‘He’s safe,’ smiled Katie. ‘Now I have to go and deal with Princess and her new puppy.’
And in a video she posted, Harvey, who she described as ‘shattered’ said, from his sofa: ‘I feel good and, of course, I am so happy to be home.’
We’re glad Harvey is on the mend. It would be traumatic for any parent, but for Katie? She’s had enough heartache to last her a lifetime.
‘I love him so much, he’s my life, but he’s hard work’
She prayed for her husband to survive Coronavirus – and he did. But Covid-19 had wreaked ‘extraordinary damage’ on Derek Draper’s body, says wife Kate Garraway. Three months after Derek entered hospital, he is still in a coma in intensive care.
And Kate is left praying for a second miracle – in a situation her GMB colleague, Piers Morgan, described as ‘gutwrenchingly sad’.
Last week, Piers brought fresh hope to the star via an interview with nurse Mandy Mitchell, who is back home after spending 93 days in intensive care in a coma.
Piers told Mandy: ‘ You’re a fantastic inspiration to everybody who may have a loved one who is still in intensive care, and may be worried sick about whether they’ll come out. We have one of our own, Kate Garraway, whose own husband is in this terrible position.
‘They’re living in hope. You give people hope because you came through it. I know you’ve got some side effects, but other than that you must just be thrilled to be alive.’
Opening up about it all, Kate called Covid-19 an ‘evil, evil virus’, but added: ‘I don’t want to scare people, Derek’s situation is incredibly rare.’
Derek now has holes in his heart, his liver is impacted, and issues with his pancreas have left him diabetic. He’s also been on dialysis because his kidneys stopped functioning.
His nerves and his neurology have been affected, too.
‘He’s still being given breathing support,’ Kate admitted recently. ‘But the hope is that each day he will need less. They are watching him constantly, it’s like spinning plates. But whatever happens, we’re looking at months and months of rehabilitation.’
As a devoted wife and mother, Kate must find now herself in a terrible dilemma. On the one hand, she will want to stay totally focused on her husband, and his recovery.
On the other, the 53-yearold presenter has to maintain a semblance of normal life for the sake of their children, Darcey, 14 and Billy, 10.
In a recent heartbreaking Instagram post, brave Kate admitted, ‘ Whatever happens next, I’m afraid it is going to be a long road, with an uncertain end that isn’t even nearly in sight right now.’
‘Whatever happens, we’re looking at months and months of rehabilitation’