Bindi Irwin gave fans a tough update after having two major surgeries. She went on Instagram and talked about how endometriosis has been part of her life for 13 years and what it has done to her.
She said: “I felt utterly ashamed as a teenager and young adult being told that my pain was just part of being a woman. I felt lesser. I felt hurt. I felt weak.”
Bindi also pushed for change and said: “That is not okay. Young girls and women shouldn’t feel alone with pain in the driver’s seat of their lives. We need to take away the stigma of talking about women’s health. It’s time to have open discussions and make change on a global scale.”
She sent light and love to everyone else dealing with it. Even with the hard times, she and Chandler Powell have a daughter together, Grace, who is four now.
In the update, she said surgeons found 51 lesions, a chocolate cyst, and they removed her appendix. She added: “My hernia from giving birth that was unzipping – was taken care of.” That was a lot for one surgery.
She told her followers: “I can FINALLY say that I’m feeling better. Genuinely healing. I can function in everyday life without wanting to throw up or pass out from the pain. Slowly, slowly gaining my strength back.” For the first time in years she feels like herself.
After living with the condition so long, she admitted: “I cannot express the gravity of my emotions as I am beginning to recognize myself again.” That really showed how much this has changed her.
She also said: “Trying to remain a positive person & hide the pain has been a very long road. These last 10 years 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. Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn’t live like I was.”
Another star, Emma Bunton from the Spice Girls, has spoken about her own fears with endometriosis. She said: “I remember the doctor saying at the time, ‘fifty percent of women with endometriosis go on to have children.’ I thought, ‘Only 50 percent?’ It scared the life out of me.”
