Selling Sunset's Amanza Smith Says She Was 2 Days Away From Dying Amid Spine Infection
Amanza Smith is sharing an update after her excruciating health journey.
Admitted to L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in June, doctors "found that I had bacteria in my blood, and it had turned into osteomyelitis," the Selling Sunset star detailed to People in a video published Aug. 23. "I've never heard any of these terms until this experience. And osteomyelitis was the infection that was attacking my spine. So, it was deteriorating the bones in my spine."
And she said that if she waited any longer, her chances of survival would have also diminished.
"I almost died," Amanza added. "I was two days away from death, and that doesn't even seem like that could be a real thing."
However, a successful surgery removed some of the infection.
"There was a portion on my lower spine that looked pretty severe," the interior designer continued, "so they decided to do one surgery to just sort of excavate and clear it out and basically wash out the infection to get it away from the bones."
And while doctors hoped they could treat the rest with antibiotics, Amanza shared, her vertebrae continued to deteriorate—leading to a second surgery.
"They went in and they replaced with a titanium cage—so I am Iron Woman—and rods and screws," the 46-year-old said, later adding, "That was the major surgery. It was six hours."
A month later, on July 3, Amanza returned home. However, her journey to recovery continues. Now, the mother of two tells the outlet she will continue taking antibiotics for the rest of the year as well as do physical therapy.
"Right now, I have clear blood cultures, so there's no infection in my blood," she said in the video. "We have as far as know all the infection off of my spine. There's just the aftermath of what the infection that sat there caused, and it's a very aggressive bacteria. So, there's some deterioration on portions—just tiny, not anything where I'm going to need surgery right now. Possibly again down the road. I mean, it could be five, 10, 20 years, I don't know, maybe never."
And Amanza is thankful to have the love and support of her family and friends—including her boyfriend David. "When I needed you most there you were," she wrote on Instagram Aug. 1. "Love really shows up when you least expect it so grateful for this man!"
Now, she's continuing to look towards the future.
"Chilling and healing is the name of the game these days," Amanza wrote on Instagram Aug. 9. "Thank you to everyone for the continuous messages and well wishes. I'm getting there! Slowly but most definitely surely!"
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