Patti Newton was admitted to hospital for a barrage of tests on October 3 after sustaining a head injury from a fall. The 72-year-old television personality and wife to Bert Newton shared a photo of herself on Instagram to put everyone at ease, holding up her fingers in a peace symbol even while lying in a neck brace in her hospital bed.
“Had a fall and hit my head,” she captioned the image. “I’m so Lucky after Scans no permanent damage, just a sore and glued head. Thank you to the #frankstonhospital they were just wonderful to us xx.” [sic]
A post shared by Patti Newton (@pattinewtonofficial) on
Fans rushed to wish Patti a speedy recovery, with nearly 200 comments extending their thoughts, hopes and prayers after the incident.
This isn’t the first time the Newton family has been the spotlight for health-related concerns. Patti recently opened up about her battle with shingles in an effort to encourage other older Australians to seek help from a health professional when they have genuine concerns.
“People in their 70s probably don’t go to the GP often enough to ask about these sorts of things,” she said. “It can lead to stroke; it can lead to other major illnesses when you’re a senior.”
Vulnerable as she looks in this Instagram snapshot, it seems this is another way for Patti to campaign for Australian seniors to seek proper medical help.
Patti’s 79-year-old husband, Bert, has been in and out of hospital over the last few months due to complications after a bout of pneumonia. The renowned former host of Good Morning Australia also underwent major heart surgery in 2012; he recently attributed his recovery from the quadruple bypass surgery to Patti’s unending care, according to reports in The Daily Mail.
“Patti takes extra special care of what I do and particularly what I don’t do,” Bert said.