Bindi Irwin thanked her best friend in a heartbreaking Instagram post as it helped her finally seek medical help for her endometriosis pain.
The conservationist had 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst, a cyst filled with menstrual blood, removed by an endometriosis specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City two months ago, after privately battling the condition for a decade.
An American woman named Leslie Mosier, who also suffers from endometriosis and has now become Bindi’s best friend, first encouraged her to find answers and set her on the path to getting her life back on track.
The mother-of-one took to Instagram on Tuesday to wish Leslie a happy birthday and thank her for her help.
She wrote: ‘Happy birthday to one of my dearest friends in this world.
‘I am grateful every day that you came into my life. You threw me a lifeboat as I drowned in the pain of endometriosis and told me that I could find answers, that I deserved help.
‘I will be forever grateful. I love you. You light up the world with your kind heart.
While the friends first connected online, they finally met in person last May when Bindi flew to Los Angeles to attend a memorial fundraiser for her late father Steve ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin.
Leslie posted a trio of photos on Instagram of the couple, writing: “Endometriosis is a dark disease, but a bright light came out of my journey: my friendship with Bindi.”
“When I was going through my worst, I couldn’t see how anything good could come out of my pain.”
Leslie, who is famous on Instagram thanks to her dog ‘Doug the Pug’, said meeting Bindi was the only positive to come out of their shared endometriosis ordeal as they both helped each other through their darkest moments.
“But the connection with another who shares the experience and understands you in a way few can is like no other,” he continued.
Leslie said it felt amazing to meet Bindi in person for the first time, knowing that they were both celebrating being pain free for the first time in so long. long.
Bindi Irwin (left) shared the incredible story of how a fellow endometriosis sufferer, Leslie Mosier (right), inspired her to undergo life-changing surgery that ended years of chronic pain.
‘We finally met in person and not only was it special to finally meet, but we were both PAIN FREE! It was surreal, a moment we both dreamed of,” she wrote.
‘The endo community is very lucky to have Bindi as an advocate. And I feel so lucky that they brought us together. Now that we are both pain free, we have many happy adventures ahead of us.
Bindi, who shares two-year-old daughter Grace Warrior with husband Chandler Powell, later shared Leslie’s post on her own Instagram Story.
“Forever grateful for your beautiful friendship,” she added.
When she first posted about her surgery in early March, Bindi said Leslie was the reason she struggled so hard to find answers to her chronic pain.
The two women finally met in person last Saturday when Bindi flew to Los Angeles to attend a memorial fundraiser for her late father Steve ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin.
“For ten years I have battled insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a long road,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
‘These last ten years have included many tests, doctor visits, scans, etc.
‘A doctor told me it was just something you deal with as a woman and I gave up completely, trying to function through the pain.
‘I didn’t find answers until a friend, Leslie Mosier, helped put me on the path to getting my life back. I decided to have endometriosis surgery.’
The mother-of-one admitted that she wasn’t sure she wanted to speak publicly about her health at first, but decided to speak out because she hoped to help other women battling endometriosis.
She also wanted to draw attention to the fact that doctors often don’t take the condition seriously enough, noting that a doctor once told her pain was just a normal part of being a woman.
He said “going into surgery was terrifying, but I knew I couldn’t live the way I was”, adding that “every” aspect of his life was being “torn apart” by pain.
The mother-of-one (pictured with husband Chandler Powell at the Steve Irwin gala in Los Angeles last week) admitted she wasn’t sure she wanted to speak publicly about her health at first.
“To make a long story short, they found thirty-seven lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and one chocolate cyst,” he continued.
Bindi revealed that her surgeon’s first words after she woke up from the procedure were: ‘How did you live in so much pain?’
She said having this ‘validation’ from a medical professional after years of doctors taking her pain away was an ‘indescribable’ feeling, before thanking her family and friends who had encouraged her to find answers.
‘Thanks to the doctors and nurses who believed in my pain,’ she added. “I am on the road to recovery and the gratitude I feel is overwhelming,” she added.
Bindi has spent her entire life in the spotlight as the daughter of famed wildlife conservationists Steve and Terri Irwin.
Steve, known to millions of people around the world as ‘the crocodile hunter’, died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44, after a stingray pierced his chest while filming a documentary about the Great Coral barrier.
Bindi was only eight years old at the time.
Since his death, Steve’s family, including children Bindi and Robert, widow Terri and son-in-law Chandler, have continued his wildlife conservation work at Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
After his death, Steve’s family, including his children Bindi and Robert (both pictured), widow Terri, and son-in-law Chandler, have continued his wildlife conservation work.
