Bindi Irwin has provided a timely update for fans after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday.
The 26-year-old conservationist, daughter of the legendary Steve Irwin, arrived in the US at the weekend for the annual Steve Irwin Gala. Yet hours after touching down in Las Vegas she suffered a ruptured appendix and was rushed into emergency surgery.
Bindi, who has built a strong following in her own right, took to Instagram yesterday to share a video from her hospital bed. In the clip, she said she was the “road to recovery”, while thanking doctors for their work.
While her appendix was being removed, doctors reportedly discovered another 14 lesions from endometriosis, a condition Bindi is known to suffer from. Those were also successfully removed, and a hernia that had developed after giving birth to her daughter, Grace, in 2021 was repaired.
“I am so thankful that I got the help I needed with Dr. Seckin and Dr. Chu at Lenox Hill Hospital. After many months of a grumbly appendix, I finally had to seek help the day of our Steve Irwin Gala,” she wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
“After consulting with Dr. Seckin, we agreed that if I flew to New York, he could also check for endometriosis again. Surgery was a success.
“My appendix was removed, along with another 14 lesions (after having 37 endometriosis lesions and a cyst removed two years ago). I also had a repair to a large hernia I acquired through childbirth four years ago.”
Bindi also took the time to praise her brother Robert for hosting the Steve Irwin Gala.
“And rest assured, I’ll see you at the next Steve Irwin Gala in Brisbane this November. One day at a time. Time to heal now. Sending my love to you all,” she concluded.
Robert Irwin told People Magazine at the weekend that his sister was doing well following her surgery.
“She’s going to be okay, but surgery – out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” the 21-year-old explained.
“She came to Las Vegas and was ready to put on a brave face. She said, ‘I’m just going to tough it out’.
“But the surgeon told her, ‘Your appendix is going. It’s got to come out.””
Bindi’s health problems have been well documented in the past, with the conservationist having battled undiagnosed issues for over a decade.
“Behind closed doors I was struggling to do anything and everything,” she said in a candid statement last year.
“People must have thought I was just incredibly flaky because I was getting so sick… I would try to get up, and I really would just throw up. I was in so much pain all the time.”
After going undiagnosed for more than ten years, she was finally told she had endometriosis. She was then able to undergo surgery in the United States.
“Endometriosis is an enormous problem for so many people, and it’s not talked about enough. I went 10 years undiagnosed because doctors didn’t know enough,” she said.
We’re sending well wishes and love to Bindi Irwin!
