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Original Source:
MAIL: 26 OCTOBER 2007 |
By VANESSA ALLEN and DAVID WILKES
Last updated at 00:30am on 26th October 2007 |
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Friends fear Kate McCann is near breaking point as the six-month anniversary of
her daughter's disappearance approaches.
She and her husband Gerry are "going in opposite directions" as they
struggle to cope with life without Madeleine, it was claimed yesterday.
While Mr McCann is desperate to return to work and regain at least a sense of
normality, his wife is said to be increasingly fragile.
The couple insist they remain completely united but friends say they are
dealing with the loss of their four-year-old daughter in completely different
ways.
They say Mrs McCann, 39, is dreading next Saturday, November 3, which will mark
six months since she last saw her daughter, and is falling into "moments
of total despair".
"Kate is in a much worse frame of mind than Gerry as it comes up to the
six-month mark," said one friend.
"They are totally united but they are going in opposite directions in
terms of their handling of it.
Breaking: The emotion is too much for the mother of three
"There was the first-week landmark, the first-month.
"And now they are facing the six-month. They never thought they would be
doing that.
"But Gerry is buoyant and he feels the search has been reinvigorated by
the appointment of the new police chief.
"Kate is dreading the six-month anniversary. She has good and bad days but
a lot more bad days at moment. She broke down at the end of the Spanish TV
interview.
"She looks very gaunt and pale. She has moments of total despair."
Careworn: Kate rallies to insist on the couple's innocence
A family source said Mr McCann felt the decision to set up a 24-hour hotline,
staffed by the couple's own private detectives, had allowed them to gain some
control over the hunt for their daughter.
But he too is worried over his wife's emotional state.
When she broke down at the end of the Spanish television interview his first
thought was to stop her from speaking while she was still being recorded.
Instead of comforting here, he said: "Don't say anything till they've
taken off your microphone."
In the interview, seen by millions of viewers on Wednesday, Mr McCann appeared
focused and deliberate as he appealed for help in the hunt to find the missing
four-year-old.
But Mrs McCann, a GP, could not maintain eye contact with the interviewer and
frequently let her responses trail off into long pauses, punctuated by heavy
sighs.
She stared blankly off-camera as she told how empty her life was without her
daughter.
"I think she is possibly being held by someone in their house," she
said, but her words trailed away again, and she finally said simply: "I
don't know why."
She appeared to have tears in her eyes as she said repeatedly: "We still
have hope."
She was resolute as she insisted she and her husband were innocent of any
wrongdoing.
"We know the truth, I know I'm innocent, Gerry knows he is innocent, we
know each other are innocent," she said.
The couple sat close together and Mrs McCann constantly grasped one of her
husband's hands between hers.
At their first TV interview, in May, Mr McCann dropped his head down on to her
shoulder, seemingly seeking comfort. Now it looked as though Mrs McCann was
drawing on her husband for strength.
Friends say he is better at "compartmentalising" his emotions and is
accustomed to speaking in public through of his job. Mrs McCann is much shyer.
Friends said Mrs McCann found the interview - her first since she was named as
an official suspect in the disappearance - extremely difficult and emotional.
She became visibly agitated as she was asked if she had ever sedated her
children, and a family source said Mr McCann's warning not to speak until the
microphone was turned off was because they had been advised not to speak about
the allegation.
The couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire, were warned by their legal team they
could be prosecuted for talking publicly while still bound by strict Portuguese
secrecy laws. But their lawyers cleared them to speak last week.
They will hold a vigil and say prayers for Madeleine to mark the six-month
anniversary of her disappearance on Saturday. They will be joined by family and
friends for a service at the parish church
of St Mary and St John.
A four-hour vigil will be held from 6-10pm, with lead prayers taking place
between 9.30-9.45pm. It is during those 15 minutes on May 3 that Madeleine
vanished.
• Gerry McCann hopes to go back to work next week, friends said yesterday.
The consultant cardiologist believes going back to his job will help give his
family a sense of normality and is waiting to hear if management at the Glenfields Hospital
in Leicester have approved his request.
"Gerry has wanted to return for a while now," said a friend. "He
has kept in regular contact with work friends."
Medical chiefs must decide if Mr McCann could focus on his job - whether he
works part-time or full-time - while he is still an official suspect.
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