The zookeeper recalled her doctor asking her “how did you live with this much pain?” upon receiving her test results after a decade of suffering
Bindi Irwin is getting real about the health condition that’s plagued her for the past decade.
The 24-year-old “Crikey! It’s The Irwins” star got candid about her health when she revealed she was diagnosed with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition where uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus which can cause extreme cramping and chronic pain.
Alongside a picture of herself in a hospital bed, Bindi addressed her previous reservations with sharing details surrounding her condition and how she acknowledged her responsibility to share her story with other women who may be struggling with the same diagnosis.
“For 10yrs I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea,” she began in her post on Instagram. “Trying to remain a positive person & hide the pain has been a very long road. These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc.”
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Irwin explained how she almost gave up after a doctor chalked her pain up to typical menstrual cramps.
“A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain,” she confessed. “I didn’t find answers until a friend @lesliemosier helped set me on a path of regaining my life. I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis.”
Though the idea of surgery was scary, the animal conservationist knew she couldn’t live with the constant pain. Long story short, after a series of tests, doctors were able to find “37 lesions, some very deep & difficult to remove, & a chocolate cyst.”
Irwin recalled her doctor asking her “‘how did you live with this much pain?'” and said that the “validation for years of pain is indescribable.”
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The television personality thanked her loved ones for pushing her to find the answers behind her 10 years of pain.
“I’m on the road to recovery & the gratitude I feel is overwhelming,” she continued. “To those questioning the cancelled plans, unanswered messages & absence – I had been pouring every ounce of the energy I had left into our daughter & family.”
“Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case. 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,” Irwin said of her daughter Grace Warrior with whom she shares with her husband Chandler Powell. “She feels like our family’s miracle.”
“I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story,” she concluded. “There’s stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this & is quietly dealing with pain & no answers. Let this be your validation that your pain is real & you deserve help. Keep searching for answers. www.endofound.org.”
