Bindi Irwin breaks down on camera about health condition
<p>Bindi Irwin has shown her vulnerable side in an emotional new video shared with fans about a personal ordeal.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old spoke candidly to the camera for 15 minutes with guest appearances from husband Chandler Powell and their daughter Grace Warrior.</p>
<p>In the video, Irwin recalled the “insurmountable” pain she experienced due to endometriosis before finally <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/how-did-you-live-with-this-much-pain-bindi-irwin-hospitalised" target="_blank" rel="noopener">undergoing surgery</a>.</p>
<p>The wildlife warrior announced her diagnosis in March 2023, but the new video explains her symptoms - which started when she was just 14 - that left her with “extreme fatigue, nausea and pain”.</p>
<p>“I had pain every single day of my life. No matter where we went, where we were going, I would be falling asleep. I felt like I constantly had the flu,” she said.</p>
<p>The conservationist confessed she tried everything to solve the issue, undergoing CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.</p>
<p>“I was always in pain. We tried for a year, and finally a doctor told me it was just part of being a woman.”</p>
<p>Irwin said it was that comment from a doctor that led her to suffer in silence.</p>
<p>However, after giving birth to her daughter in 2021, the pain “magnified” to a point where it was “out of this world”.</p>
<p>“I remember countless times of Grace needing me, and me crawling to her cot at night,” she revealed, becoming emotional.</p>
<p>“I can remember being with Grace and lying on the floor in agony. I had a stabbing pain in my side, I couldn’t get up or I would throw up, and I was scared I would pass out.</p>
<p>“I was so scared because I was worried if I was alone with Grace, something would happen to me, and she would be on her own.”</p>
<p>Irwin dubbed the pain “insurmountable” and something that “would knock me over”.</p>
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<p>She said that after returning to new doctors, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue.</p>
<p>It was not until she spoke to a friend, Leslie Mosier, who recently had endometriosis surgery that she realised they shared similar symptoms.</p>
<p>“Leslie said the only way to diagnose for sure is through exploratory surgery.”</p>
<p>Irwin said she decided to undergo surgery in the US as her daughter would have Powell’s parents, who live in Florida, nearby for support while she recovered.</p>
<p>At this point in her video, Grace woke up and joined her mum on camera.</p>
<p>“Mama went for surgery and they found 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst on my ovary,” she said in a child-like tone for the sake of her daughter.</p>
<p>“Ovary!” Grace chirped.</p>
<p>“After surgery mama feels a lot better hey? I had to recover for quite a while, and mama feels so much better, and she can run around with you!”</p>
<p>Irwin went on to share what she has learned being a part of the endometriosis community.</p>
<p>She revealed that excision surgery is considered the “gold standard” for the disease, where lesions and cysts are removed.</p>
<p>“Everyone says we need to educate the public, but there also needs to be a shift in health care. Doctors need more information because endometriosis has myriad symptoms. Doctors need the right tools to diagnose.”</p>
<p>She explained that her own endometriosis has been classified as severe, which means she may have to undergo more surgeries in the future to keep symptoms at bay.</p>
<p>“I feel like. I got a second chance at life... I feel like a new woman.”</p>
<p>In a final message of encouragement, Irwin said, “If you’re in pain, it’s so hard to get up every day and forge ahead.</p>
<p>“Keep searching for those answers and never give up on you.”</p>
<p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>