Entertainment legend Bert Newton is currently recovering after doctors amputated his leg on Saturday in a life-saving operation.
And now renovations are underway in her home, perhaps to make things more accessible for the star.
Photos of the Hawthorne Residence appear to show that the garage is being remodeled into a living space.
Renovations: Bert and Patti Newton renovate their home following the TV legend’s recent leg amputation
Bert, 82, consented to the amputation after spending six weeks at Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, where his condition steadily worsened.
Bert’s wife, 47, Patti Newton, told the Daily Telegraph that she had ‘never seen anyone suffer as much’ as her husband on the morning of his operation.
She added: ‘I just felt he couldn’t take the pain as he was going through it for much longer. ”
Space: Photos of the Hawthorne residence appear to show the garage being renovated into living space
Bert went into surgery at 7:50 a.m. on Saturday and Patti learned it had been successful at 3:00 p.m. “It has been a long day and a long wait,” she said.
Patti, 76, also spoke of her husband’s fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six had accepted the life-changing operation because “ he has so much to go through. ”
“It’s not a death sentence,” she said, adding: “He is lucky; he has family all around him. Grandchildren are the world to him.
Bert’s toe was infected before Christmas.
‘I’ve never seen anyone suffer more’: Bert was in excruciating pain from his infected toe before doctors amputated his leg on Saturday
The infection was “ linked to his diabetes ” and was life threatening, Seb Costello of A Current Affair reported on Monday evening.
The Good Morning Australia host, who has battled health issues for years and has spent the past six weeks in hospital, has learned the surgery is a ‘life and death decision’, entertainment reporter Peter Ford reported on 3AW Breakfast on Monday.
Mr Ford, who had been in contact with the Newton family, said the infection kept worsening and spreading, leaving doctors with no choice but to amputate.
Health concerns: Bert’s wife, 47, Patti Newton, told the Daily Telegraph she had ‘never seen anyone suffer more’ than her husband on the morning of his operation
Doctors reportedly told Bert last week that having his leg amputated would save his life, but keeping the leg would mean he would only have ‘months to live’.
He consented to the operation on Saturday, Ford said.
‘[The infection] got worse… he was seeing doctors and specialists and they didn’t seem to be getting there; it continued to spread, ”said Ford.
“Basically, he was told last week, ‘You have a few months to live, or if you have your leg amputated you will probably have a few years.” So he agreed to have your leg amputated on Saturday.
Fighter: Patti also opened up about her husband’s fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six had accepted the life-changing surgery because ‘he has so much to go on’
Mr Ford said Bert and Patti were preparing for a major adjustment when they returned from the hospital.
It’s a big decision for anyone to make [to amputate], but that’s also a practical thing, as they live in a two story place with the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, so now they have to convert the house downstairs because Patti doesn’t want him go to a nursing home, ‘he said.
However, the Newtons are said to remain positive and don’t want the public to view Bert’s amputation as a “ sad ” story.
Mr Ford said: ‘They [the Newton family] “We had a choice. Others don’t have a choice. Bert wants to go on living, because he adores Patti, his children and his grandchildren, and he wants to spend as much time as possible with them.” ‘
Sick: On November 19, Patti posted this photo on Bert’s Instagram in the hospital as he battled a mysterious illness, which may have been his toe infection.
A spokesperson for the Newtons declined to comment, but confirmed that the information about Bert’s leg amputation was correct.
While Bert’s health has been a concern for almost 10 years now, the exact nature of his latest illness was only made public on Monday.
Patti, who recently broke her ankle, was pictured visiting her husband in hospital on April 28, accompanied by her daughter, Lauren.
On November 19, she posted a photo to Instagram of Bert in the hospital as he battled a mysterious illness, which could have been his toe infection.
‘Bert was in the hospital [but] all good. He has a lot to live for, ” she wrote in the caption.
However, he appeared to be in better health on Christmas Day, when he joined his family for lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Crown Melbourne.
Family: However, he appeared to be in better health on Christmas Day, when he joined his family for lunch at Crown Melbourne. Bert and Patti are pictured with their daughter, Lauren, her husband, Matt Welsh, and their six children, Sam, Eva, Lola, Monty, Perla and Alby
Patti’s Instagram activity around this time suggests that her husband was discharged from the hospital for the duration of the vacation.
Bert’s health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.
In the years following the operation, he was hospitalized three times with pneumonia and was also diagnosed with anemia.
Anemia can make a person feel tired or weak because there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry enough oxygen to the tissues in the body.
The four-time Gold Logie winner told reporters outside the hospital in 2017 that he was feeling better after being treated for pneumonia.
“I feel better now. It took a long time. I didn’t realize until I got it the first time, that pneumonia is such a serious thing, but I feel better now, ” he said at the time.
Declining health: Bert’s health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. In the years following the operation, he was hospitalized three times with pneumonia and was also diagnosed with anemia. Photographed in the hospital with one of her grandchildren