'She was skinny and unwell': Olivia Newton-John's niece reveals how icon struggled in her final days
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: After Olivia Newton-John passed away on Monday, August 8, her family has spoken out about how her condition deteriorated in her final days. The legend was praised by her Melbourne-based niece and actress Tottie Goldsmith, who shared the last words she heard from her.
The 73-year-old 'Grease' actress died at her ranch in California after a three-decade struggle with cancer. "It's not a shock, we've known how sick she's been, especially the last five days," Goldsmith told to A Current Affair. "I couldn't get to America in time and I wanted to say goodbye, so I asked him (John) if he could hold the phone up to her ear, but he got me on FaceTime so I managed to see her."
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"I told her all the things I needed to say. She was leaving us... but I could feel like she got it," said Goldsmith, who sensed that Newton-John demise "really went down in the past five or six days." Goldsmith added, "It wasn't just the cancer that got her, it was other complications, being in a hospital and with a very susceptible immune system."
"She got secondary infections. She's really struggled with a lot of pain," Goldsmith said. Even though her aunt grew "really skinny and really ill," Goldsmith recalled, she battled valiantly the entire time.
Goldsmith was assured by her aunt that she was "not afraid" of dying and said, "I've done more in my life than I could have ever anticipated." The offer of a state funeral from Daniel Andrews, the premiere of Victoria, was accepted by the family, Goldsmith stated.
In May 2017, Newton-John revealed that her cancer had returned after 25 years of treatment, and in September 2018 she stated that she was fighting it for the third time. She mostly faded from the social sphere as her health deteriorated in recent years; she was only spotted a few times over the past year.
In recent years, Newton-John's Instagram account has been primarily devoted to events and throwback pictures from her career. This has contributed to keeping followers engaged in her work. On April 18 of this year, though, fans were treated to a rare, unedited image of her, possibly the final one we will ever see of her.
Newton-John had stated in October of last year that she was suffering Stage 4 breast cancer and used medical marijuana to ease the pain. Her husband, John Easterling, and daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, were by her side when she passed away on August 8, Monday at her ranch in Southern California.