Bindi Irwin has spoken out about her endometriosis diagnosis and her subsequent surgery, which she says gave her a “second chance at life.”
“It was just wild and the pain, fatigue, nausea that I was feeling, it was tackling my whole life,” Irwin said in a new video message of her secret decade-long health battle, which she revealed in an Instagram post earlier this month.
The video message, obtained by Good Morning America, also featured Robert Irwin and Terri Irwin, and was shared with attendees of the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s Blossom Ball on Monday.
Watch the video above.
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Irwin, 24, also shared details of her surgery, which she says saw doctors discover 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst on her ovary.
”And now, for the first time in over ten years, I feel like I have a second chance at life, like my world is opening up again,” she said of her surgery. “I am grateful beyond description. I’m going to start crying.”
Irwin went then thanked her surgeon Dr. Tamer Seckin of Lenox Hill Hospital, as well as his “extraordinary team”.
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On March 7, Irwin revealed she had been battling ”insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” for over a decade, and for years, she had no answers.
After she was diagnosed with endometriosis and treated with surgery, Irwin said she felt “validation for years of pain.”
One doctor told her “it was simply something you deal with as a woman” causing her to give up on finding a cause entirely, leaving her with no choice but to “function through the pain.”
After “many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc.”, Irwin found the cause of her pain and decided to share her story to help other women.
It’s estimated that at least one in nine women in Australia have endometriosis, a chronic condition that sees tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grow outside of it.
On average, in Australia, it takes seven to 10 years for someone to be diagnosed with the disease.
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Fans flooded Irwin’s social media with messages of support following her revelation, and her husband, Chandler Powell, as well as brother shared messages of support.
“Bindi, I’m so proud of you. It’s been a long battle through a decade of pain, but you are finally on the road to recovery,” Robert Irwin, 19, wrote.
“I’m so happy you can have your life back. Endometriosis is a horrible, crippling disease and too many women endure this in silence, or are never even diagnosed.
“Bindi, your story of resilience is a beacon for women around the world who are suffering – and it’s a wake up call for men too.
“It’s *everyone’s* responsibility to be allies for womens health and help spread awareness.”
The photographer also encouraged fans to “make this a topic that we all freely talk about.”
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Powell, meanwhile, wrote: “You are my inspiration to be as strong as I can be in every aspect of life. Seeing how you pushed through the pain to take care of our family and continue our conservation work while being absolutely riddled with endometriosis is something that will inspire me forever.”
“The greatest gift of all is knowing that you’re out the other side of surgery totally free of endometriosis. I cannot wait to embark on this new chapter of life with you,” he said.
The couple married in 2020 and had their first child, daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, in March 2021.
In her post announcing her diagnosis, Irwin also wrote: ”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.”
A week after the announcement, Irwin shared an update with her fans, thanking them for their support and assuring them she was “healing” following her surgery.
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