Bert Newton, 82, ‘to begin rehabilitation in a fortnight’ after having his leg amputated

Bert Newton is reportedly about to start rehabilitation after having his leg amputated earlier this month, in a life-saving operation.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Private Sydney, the 82-year-old television veteran ‘is expected to begin rehabilitation following his leg amputation in around a fortnight.’

The publication reports that the Newton family are keeping Bert’s health battles private and have been ‘fending off lucrative media offers’ for his story. 

Recovering: Bert Newton is reportedly about to start rehabilitation after having his leg amputated earlier this month, in a life-saving operation

Bert’s health had been a ‘huge worry’ for his family in the weeks before his leg was amputated earlier this month to save his life.

The 82-year-old entertainer’s wife, Patti, was particularly concerned, but ‘put on a brave face’ in front of her children and grandchildren.

‘Patti has feared the worst for weeks now,’ a close friend of the Newtons told Woman’s Day magazine on Monday.

Tough times: Bert's health had been a 'huge worry' for his family in the weeks before his leg was amputated earlier this month to save his life. The 82-year-old entertainer's wife, Patti, was particularly concerned, but 'put on a brave face' in front of her children and grandchildren

Tough times: Bert’s health had been a ‘huge worry’ for his family in the weeks before his leg was amputated earlier this month to save his life. The 82-year-old entertainer’s wife, Patti, was particularly concerned, but ‘put on a brave face’ in front of her children and grandchildren

They continued: ‘Bert was not in great health before the infection [in his toe which led to the amputation], and he’s been getting steadily more and more frail because of the unbearable pain. 

‘It’s been a huge worry on the entire family. Patti always puts on a brave face, but underneath she’s been terrified that she would lose him.’   

Bert was experiencing unbearable pain from his infected toe before doctors amputated his leg on Saturday, May 8, in a life-saving operation.

He consented to the amputation after spending six weeks at Melbourne’s Epworth Hospital, where his condition had been steadily worsening. 

Health battle: Bert was experiencing unbearable pain from his infected toe before doctors amputated his leg on Saturday, May 8, in a life-saving operation. Patti, his wife of 47 years, told The Daily Telegraph she had 'never seen anybody in more pain' than her husband on the morning of his operation

Health battle: Bert was experiencing unbearable pain from his infected toe before doctors amputated his leg on Saturday, May 8, in a life-saving operation. Patti, his wife of 47 years, told The Daily Telegraph she had ‘never seen anybody in more pain’ than her husband on the morning of his operation

Patti, his wife of 47 years, told The Daily Telegraph she had ‘never seen anybody in more pain’ than her husband on the morning of his operation.

She added: ‘I just felt he could not go through pain like he was going through for much longer.’

Bert went into surgery at 7.50am on May 8 and Patti learned it had been a success at 3pm. ‘It was a long day and a long wait,’ she said.

Patti, 76, also spoke of her husband’s fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six agreed to the life-changing surgery because ‘he has so much to live for’. 

‘This is not a death sentence,’ she said, adding: ‘He is lucky; he has got family all around him. The grandkids mean the world to him.’

'So much to live for': Patti, 76, also spoke of her husband's fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six agreed to the life-changing surgery because 'he has so much to live for'

‘So much to live for’: Patti, 76, also spoke of her husband’s fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six agreed to the life-changing surgery because ‘he has so much to live for’

Bert’s toe became infected before Christmas.

The infection was ‘linked to his diabetes’ and was threatening his life.

The Good Morning Australia host, who has battled ill health for years and spent the past six weeks in hospital, was told the surgery was a ‘life or death decision’, entertainment journalist Peter Ford first reported on 3AW Breakfast recently.

Mr Ford, who had been in contact with the Newton family, said the infection kept getting worse and spreading, leaving doctors no choice but to amputate.

Doctors reportedly told Bert a week earlier that amputating the leg would save his life, but keeping the leg would mean he’d have just ‘months to live’. 

‘[The infection] got worse… he was seeing doctors and specialists and they couldn’t seem to get it right; it kept on spreading,’ Mr Ford explained.

‘Basically he was told, “You have a couple of months to live, or if you have your leg amputated, you’ll probably have a few years.” So he agreed to have the leg amputated on Saturday.’

Mr Ford said Bert and Patti were preparing for a major adjustment once he gets home from hospital.

Life or death decision: The Good Morning Australia host, who has battled ill health for years and spent the past six weeks in hospital, was told the surgery was a 'life or death decision', entertainment journalist Peter Ford first reported on 3AW Breakfast recently

Life or death decision: The Good Morning Australia host, who has battled ill health for years and spent the past six weeks in hospital, was told the surgery was a ‘life or death decision’, entertainment journalist Peter Ford first reported on 3AW Breakfast recently

‘It’s a big decision for anyone to make [to amputate], but it’s also a practical thing, because they live in a two-storey place with the bedrooms and the bathrooms upstairs, so they’re now having to convert the house downstairs because Patti doesn’t want him to go into a nursing home,’ he said. 

However, the Newtons are said to be staying positive and don’t want the public to think of Bert’s amputation as a ‘sad’ story.

Mr Ford said: ‘They [the Newton family] said, “We had a choice. Other people don’t have a choice. Bert wants to keep on living, because he adores Patti, his children and his grandkids, and he wants to have as much time as he can with them.”‘ 

Bert’s health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent a quadruple bypass.

In the years following the surgery, he was hospitalised 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 adequate oxygen to the body’s tissues.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted a representative of the Newtons for comment, in relation to this story. 

Concerns: Bert's health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent a quadruple bypass. In the years following the surgery, he was hospitalised three times with pneumonia and was also diagnosed with anemia

Concerns: Bert’s health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent a quadruple bypass. In the years following the surgery, he was hospitalised three times with pneumonia and was also diagnosed with anemia

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