Olivia Newton-John's niece, Totti Goldsmith, has revealed how she said her final goodbye to her beloved aunt over FaceTime two days ago.
Totti, who lives in Melbourne, said the family had been prepared for the Australian entertainment icon's death.
"It's not a shock, we've known how sick she's been, especially the last five days," she said.
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"John, her husband, has kept us in the loop and I've been talking to the beautiful Chloe a lot.
"I couldn't get to America in time and I wanted to say goodbye, so I asked him if he could hold the phone up to her ear, but he got me on Facetime so I managed to see her.
"I told her all the things I needed to say.
"She was leaving us... but I could feel like she got it."
Totti, whose mother was Olivia's sister, revealed more about the performer's last moments.
She said while both her and the family were "optimistic", she had gone downhill.
"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 said.
"She got secondary infections.
"She really went down in the past five, six days."
She said that while Olivia had been an advocate for cannabinoids, it hadn't been enough to help with her pain recently.
"It's really helped her, but later on it wasn't enough," Totti said.
"She's really struggled with a lot of pain."
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She reflected on asking Olivia about facing death a few years ago, when she was having treatment at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute she established in Melbourne.
"She was really skinny and really unwell and I said to her, 'Are you afraid of dying?" she said.
"She said, 'Plonker', which was my nickname, she said, 'I'm not, I'm not afraid, I've done more in my life than I could have ever imagined.'
"She honestly never imagined her life would be how it was."
She said it was the Cancer Centre and helping other patients which really kept her going through her own illness.
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"She was deeply, deeply passionate about what she could give back to this planet, and she did," Totti said.
She said the family will accept the offer of a state funeral, which has been made by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
"I think Australia needs it," she said.
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMilwFodHRwczovLzlub3cubmluZS5jb20uYXUvYS1jdXJyZW50LWFmZmFpci9vbGl2aWEtbmV3dG9uLWpvaG4tZGVhdGgtbmllY2UtdG90dHktZ29sZHNtaXRoLWZhbWlseS1pbnRlcnZpZXctb2JpdHVhcnkvYjBlMDM4OGYtM2ViNy00YTMwLTlhNDYtZjU2NDZkNmU3YTM00gFEaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAubmluZS5jb20uYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS9iMGUwMzg4Zi0zZWI3LTRhMzAtOWE0Ni1mNTY0NmQ2ZTdhMzQ?oc=5
2022-08-10 12:25:57Z
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