Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Evil virus has wreaked extraordinary damage on Derek..we don’t know if he will ever recover
Wills secretly volunteering on helpline
PRINCE William has been secretly manning a crisis helpline.
He has joined more than 2,000 volunteers who trained for text messaging service Shout85258.
William and Kate marked the service’s first anniversary by sharing a video call to some volunteers, with the Prince saying: “I’m going to share a little secret with you guys. I’m actually on the platform volunteering.”
Kate has also been helping others and has taken part in “check in and chat” calls with those self-isolating or vulnerable as part of the Royal Voluntary Service’s NHS Volunteer Responders scheme.
VISITS
The couple, along with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, helped launch the crisis line in May last year, investing £3million through their Royal Foundation.
Earlier this week the Cambridges marked Volunteers’ Week by making video calls to organisations helping the young.
They spoke to volunteers working with people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Kirklees, West Yorks, and a group set up to help people in Machynlleth, North Wales, during the pandemic.
A royal source said Wills and Kate would carry out official events via video for the foreseeable future but were hoping to resume visits in person at some point.
The source added: “We are looking at physical engagements in the future in line with Government guidance.”
KATE Garraway has opened her heart on husband Derek Draper’s ongoing battle with coronavirus – and admitted she does not know if he will ever recover.
The Good Morning Britain presenter said the “evil, evil virus” has “wreaked extraordinary damage”.
Derek, 52, has been in hospital 10 weeks and in an induced coma since April 5 – and medics warn it could be a year before there is improvement.
Kate, 53, fought back tears yesterday as she told of his last words to her, telling her: “You saved my life.”
And speaking to colleagues on ITV’S GMB from her London home, she told how it is a miracle he is still here – but she is now hoping for “one more miracle” so he can pull through.
Kate said: “The fact he’s still here and holding on, I’m so grateful. He’s very, very sick and as time goes on it’s a bit like a computer virus, the doctors manage one bit extraordinarily well and there seems to be a flicker of hope, and then other things emerge.
“It’s affected him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
“The fight with the virus has been won and he’s still here but it’s wreaked extraordinary damage on his body and we don’t know if he can recover.”
Revealing she has been told it could be a year before they see any real change in his condition, she said: “(It) feels unthinkable but we are praying there will be progress before then. One doctor said he’s the worst-affected person he’s had to treat that has lived.”
But she added: “I don’t want to scare people, Derek’s situation is rare.”
And Kate said she has also had coronavirus, although “mercifully mildly”.
Derek – a PR and former political adviser who she has children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11 with – had a painful shoulder before he was taken ill.
On March 29, she came home and he told her: “I’m struggling to breathe.”
Kate said: “I did whatever anyone who works at GMB does, I rang Dr
BALD men are at a greater risk of developing severe coronavirus symptoms, a study claims.
Researchers believe the link is so strong that baldness should be considered a risk factor.
They suggest it should be called the “Gabrin sign”.
Dr Frank Gabrin, the first American doctor to die of Covid-19, was bald. Prof
Hilary (Jones).” After some breathing tests, her colleague told her to call an ambulance. Kate said: “I helped put him in the ambulance and put a mask on him. He said to Darcey and Billy, ‘You’re the best children anyone could ever ask for, look after Mum and be good for her’, and that was it.”
Describing the days before he was put into a coma, she said: “He was very bad, he couldn’t really speak to me.
“He was begging me, saying ‘I can’t stand this, I feel like I’m suffocating, I can’t take it, please let them put me in
Carlos Wambier, of Brown University in Rhode Island, US, said: “We think baldness is a perfect predictor of severity.”
A Public Health England report this week found working-age men were twice as likely as women to die after testing positive for the virus.
Scientists believe it could be down to male sex hormones called androgens which contribute to hair loss.