‘Selling Sunset’ Star Amanza Smith Reveals She Almost Died From Spine Infection
Amanza Smith, one of the stars of the Netflix reality series Selling Sunset, has revealed how she was “two days from dying” following a severe spine infection that left her hospitalized.
The interior designer turned realtor opened up to People about her battle with osteomyelitis, a painful bone infection that can cause serious problems if not treated. She explained how she collapsed at her Los Angeles home in May after a month of agonizing backache and how a friend finally persuaded her to go to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
“One or two more days at home and you could have been dead,” Smith said her doctor told her.
Smith underwent an MRI, which revealed she had vertebral osteomyelitis, the most common form of vertebral infection, though a relatively rare disease that can be fatal for two out of 10 patients. For Smith, her infection was dangerously advanced.
“I thought I had a backache, and I almost died,” she shared. “The doctors and my friend saved my life.”
Amanza Smith Instagram
Smith was put on IV antibiotics and underwent surgery on her lower spine to “clear the infection from the bones.” But the infection had spread to the front of her spine, in an area that made it dangerous to operate on. “It was close to my aorta and my kidney,” Smith explained.
The problem was that the antibiotics weren’t working in stopping the infection. “The risk was the antibiotics wouldn’t penetrate the bone, and my entire back could collapse,” Smith continued, adding that she underwent a second surgery lasting six hours, in which doctors inserted a titanium mesh cage in her back.
“I am an iron woman, with rods and screws,” she joked.
Amanza Smith Instagram
Smith returned home on July 3 and is on the long road to recovery, including six months of antibiotics and physical therapy.
“There are so many things I can’t do because I can’t lift more than five pounds,” she explained. “Sometimes my purse is too heavy. You can’t speed up time, but I’m very anxious to be able to do the things that I love to do. I like to decorate. I like to rearrange. I want to be able to hang things, but I’m very limited right now.”
Through her ordeal, Smith said she gained a new perspective and lease on life. “You know who your friends are when you become a burden,” she said. “It’s like a rebirth. I will never take my mobility for granted again. When I can walk and jog again and do Pilates or ballet, I hope I stick to them because I plan on living to be 107.”
Smith joined Selling Sunset in the second season; the show centers on the Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate firm in Los Angeles, and follows a group of agents navigating their personal and professional lives.
Selling Sunset, Seasons 1-6, Streaming, Netflix
