Bindi Irwin opened up about her health struggles one day before undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.
“If you have good health you can do anything, but when you’re feeling unwell it’s impossible to function in life,” Irwin, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, May 9, one day before she was scheduled to attend the Steve Irwin Gala at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, in honor of her late father, Steve Irwin.
Bindi missed the celebratory event after suffering a ruptured appendix, which required emergency surgery.
“She’s going to be OK, but surgery — out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” Bindi’s brother Robert Irwin told People in an interview published on Saturday, May 10. “She’s just come out of the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes. Health is so important – it really is.”
Before her latest health struggle, Bindi told Us she spent 10 years feeling “lost” as a result of endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The condition often causes severe pain in the pelvic and can make it difficult, or impossible in some cases, to get and remain pregnant.
“Nobody knew what was wrong with me,” she explained. “Doctors were not the most helpful, and I started to really believe that maybe it really was all in my head. And that feeling, that sense of just feeling so lost and also claustrophobic in your own body.”
She continued: “It takes so much away from your life and it’s very scary and very isolating. I think my greatest message to young girls, to women, is to keep fighting for your health. You deserve to feel good. You never, ever should be in a place in your life where you feel alone and you can’t get help.”
Bindi announced she had been diagnosed with endometriosis in 2023, nearly 10 years after she first started experiencing debilitating symptoms. She credits her family for helping her get through that difficult time in her life.
“I was so lucky, having such a wonderful family that helped me to keep looking for those answers,” she explained to Us on Friday. “They propped me up when I was at my lowest … I wasn’t just feeling unwell on my period — it was every single day of my life. I struggled to get out of bed. And it really, the pain took over. It was my family in the driver’s seat.”
She added: “So for all the girls and women — surround yourself with people who genuinely love you, whether that is your family or chosen family. Keep those people close and don’t give up on yourself because it’s very easy to feel like you’ve lost hope. But there is always hope. There is always light at the end of the tunnel and you have to keep going because health is one of the most important things in this life.”
