Bindi Irwin has posted an uplifting personal message about her journey towards an endometriosis diagnosis and her happiness after pain-relieving surgery. “There is a stigma around this terrible disease,” the “Crikey! She is the star of Irwins,” the star said, and she wants other women in the same situation to have hope, something she didn’t get in the middle of her path to a diagnosis.
“For 10 years I have battled insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a long road. These past 10 years have included many tests, doctor visits, scans, etc.,” the conservationist, zookeeper and daughter of the late Steve Irwin wrote Tuesday. social mediaposting a photo of herself in a hospital bed with a smile on her face.
Endometriosis is a painful condition caused by endometrial tissue (the lining of the uterus) growing outside the uterus, where it thickens and bleeds during menstrual cycles.
“A doctor told me it was just something you deal with as a woman and I completely gave up,” said the 24-year-old, “trying to function through the pain.”
Then he got a hand from a friend, fan, singer and pug lover Leslie Mosier that helped put her “on the path of getting my life back.” Soon Irwin was on the road to relief.
“Going into surgery was terrifying, but I knew I couldn’t live the way I was. Every part of my life was being torn apart by pain,” Irwin wrote. “To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and one chocolate cyst.” Chocolate cysts, a sign of endometriosis, are cysts filled with menstrual blood.
His doctor’s first words after Irwin arrived: “How did you live in so much pain?”
The “Dancing With the Stars” season 21 winner said experiencing validation after her years of pain was “indescribable” and thanked her friends and family for their support. She also apologized to the friends she hadn’t kept up with over the years.
“I am on the road to recovery and the gratitude I feel is overwhelming,” Irwin wrote. “For those who question the canceled plans, unanswered messages and absence, I had been pouring every ounce of energy I had left into our daughter and family.”
Irwin’s father, Australian zookeeper and “Crocodile Hunter” host Steve Irwin, died in 2006 after a stingray pierced his heart while filming an underwater documentary. Bindi was just 8 years old when his father died at the age of 44.
She married professional wakeboarder Chandler Powell in 2020; the couple welcomed their daughter Grace the following year.
“You are my inspiration to be as strong as possible in all aspects of life,” Powell posted Tuesday in instagram. “Seeing how he overcame grief to care for our family and continue our conservation work while absolutely riddled with endometriosis is something that will forever inspire me.
“The greatest gift of all is knowing that you are out of surgery totally endometriosis free,” she continued. “I can’t wait to embark on this new chapter of life with you.”
Friend Mosier responded to Powell’s post, writing in the comments: “Bindi is so lucky to have a rock like you supporting her through the pain. I really can’t wait to see how it all blossoms into a new world for the two of you! I can’t wait to celebrate at the zoo one day.”
