Bindi Irwin admits she was “terrified” when revealing her endometriosis diagnosis with the public.
“It’s really scary sharing the parts of you that have been the hardest to overcome, sharing things that feel so incredibly personal,” the conservationist told Friday night at the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s (EndoFound) 12th Annual Blossom Ball, where she was honored.
But Irwin, 25, whose dad was the late Steve Irwin, decided to open up about her health journey to shine a light on an often misdiagnosed illness that affects approximately one in ten women worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization, “It is a chronic disease associated with severe, life-impacting pain during periods, sexual intercourse, bowel movements and/or urination, chronic pelvic pain, abdominal bloating, nausea, fatigue, and sometimes depression, anxiety and infertility.”
Bindi — who attended Friday’s event with her mother, Terri Irwin, and brother, Robert Irwin — told us the disease is still a subject that “is so not talked about.”
“It’s ignored in so many ways and so many women and girls are living in unbelievable pain,” the zookeeper further explained.
“It’s so important to me to be able to share my journey so maybe it will inspire other people and maybe help them with the opportunity to stand up and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t normal and I deserve to get help. I deserve to feel good.’”
Last year, Bindi announced on Instagram that she had undergone endometriosis surgery to remove 37 lesions.
The “Crikey! It’s The Irwins” star also told that she had been living in worsening pain for more than a decade.
“I started searching for answers more than 10 years ago,” she explained. “I was young, I was really, really young.”
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