It has been months since Kerri-Anne Kennerely farewelled her beloved husband John for the final time and now the TV host has opened up about the devastating moments after her partner suffered a tragic accident that ultimately led to his death.
In 2016 John sustained spinal cord damage following a freak fall, when he slipped off a balcony at a golf course in Coffs Harbour.
He was placed into an induced coma and taken to Sydney where he had emergency surgery on his spine, but the incident left him paralysed and he had to learn how to speak again.
Kerri-Anne cared for him in the years that followed, all the way up until his sudden death in February.
Now, the Studio 10 host has revealed the heartbreaking question that John asked her using printed letters of the alphabet after the tragic accident three years ago in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
“Because he couldn’t speak, I printed out the alphabet and vowels so that’s how we would communicate,” she explained
“The first thing John asked me was: Am I a paraplegic?
“It was gut-wrenching. I couldn’t say to him at the time: ‘You’re not that lucky’.”
The past few months have been heartbreaking for Kerri-Anne who had become her husband’s carer after the accident.
Earlier this year the TV presenter opened up about her struggle to handle John’s estate following his sudden death.
The Studio 10 host told The Sydney Morning Herald that John took care of most of their paperwork and legal affairs, meaning she didn’t have to worry about it for most of their marriage, and that she was finding it challenging trying to organise his affairs while still grieving his death so deeply.
“There’s a lot of paperwork to do and I’m not great at paperwork, that was John’s domain,” she told the Fairfax publication.
“It’s not just missing someone that’s been hard, but tieing [sic] up his affairs and dealing with a lot of legal-type stuff. It’s been a very big learning curve and you can’t get away from it.”
When she announced his death the morning after his passing, Kerri-Anne described John as the love of her life.
“As you all know, John has faced some tremendous challenges over the past few years and with each he has been extraordinarily brave and determined to overcome those hurdles and live a normal life,” she wrote.
“John passed away peacefully with his Simon and I by his side.”