Bindi Irwin has opened up about her recent health struggle that resulted in her undergoing surgery recently in order to try and rectify the “insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” that she has dealt with for the past ten years.
The twenty-four-year-old is best known for her work as a TV personality, zookeeper and conservationist. As the youngest child of the late Steve Irwin, Bindi has been appearing on TV from the age of 2, and even hosted her own show, Bindi the Jungle Girl, when she was just 9 years old.
Steve tragically passed away back in 2006 after he was injured by a stingray while filming a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Better known to us all as ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, he made a name for himself with a variety of wildlife documentaries and series. Along with his wife Terri, Steve founded the Australia Zoo, which still remains in the family’s hands today.
He was just forty-four years old when he passed away, and left behind not just 8-year-old Bindi and his wife, but also his son, and Bindi’s brother, Robert, who was just 3 years old at the time.
However, their father’s premature death didn’t stopped Bindi from following in his footsteps.
As well as appearing on the family’s show, Crikey! It’s the Irwins, Bindi is a vocal activist for conservation work, and works closely with the family’s Wildlife Warriors charity.
She also took part in the twenty-first season of Dancing With the Stars back in 2015 with dancer Derek Hough, where she came out victorious, despite being just seventeen years old at the time.
But the latest news from the wildlife warrior is an update on her health, as she is recovering from surgery. The Queensland native revealed that she has struggled with endometriosis for the last decade in a lengthy Instagram post.
She wrote: “I battled for a long time wondering if I should share this journey with you in such a public space. It came down to the responsibility I feel to share my story for other women who need help.
“For 10yrs I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea. Trying to remain a positive person & hide the pain has been a very long road. These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc.
“A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain. I didn’t find answers until a friend @lesliemosier helped set me on a path of regaining my life. I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis.
“Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn’t live like I was. Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain. To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep & difficult to remove, & a chocolate cyst. @seckinmd’s first words to me when I was in recovery were, ‘How did you live with this much pain?’”
She continued: “Validation for years of pain is indescribable. My family & friends who have been on this journey with me for 10+ yrs – THANK YOU, for encouraging me to find answers when I thought I’d never climb out. Thank you to the doctors & nurses who believed my pain. I’m on the road to recovery & the gratitude I feel is overwhelming. To those questioning the cancelled plans, unanswered messages & absence – I had been pouring every ounce of the energy I had left into our daughter & family.
“Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case. Please be gentle & pause before asking me (or any woman) when we’ll be having more children. After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter. She feels like our family’s miracle.
“I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story. There’s stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this & is quietly dealing with pain & no answers. Let this be your validation that your pain is real & you deserve help. Keep searching for answers.”
