Bindi Irwin is sharing her health journey with an open heart. The wildlife conservationist revealed that she's had over 50 lesions "cut out" of her body over the past three years, amidst her ongoing battle with endometriosis. She detailed the "indescribable, inescapable pain" she's experienced during her recovery from these procedures.
"Trying to keep my invisible illness to myself after being told by doctors it was just 'part of being a woman'," Bindi - the daughter of the late Steve Irwin and Terri Irwin - captioned a March 30 Instagram post alongside photos of herself in a hospital bed. "I spent 10 years being undiagnosed. As a teenager and young woman, I felt weak and deeply insecure. I was trapped in my own body."
Not only did her surgeries include the removal of a "chocolate cyst that was adhering my ovary to my side," but she also underwent an appendectomy and a hernia repair. While the 27-year-old mother to Grace, 5, with husband Chandler Powell, has been open about her difficult journey with endometriosis, she hopes that her story can inspire other women living with the illness.
"March is endometriosis awareness month," Bindi continued. "As this month comes to a close, I urge everyone to remember this invisible disease each and every day. To lend support, compassion, and grace towards the millions who suffer. It's up to all of us to raise awareness, not just for endometriosis but for women's health as a whole."
"No one deserves to suffer in silence," she added. "If you're in pain, my heart breaks for you. I believe you. Please find answers. And don't give up on yourself. I know how hard that can be."
Bindi's health update comes after her brother Robert Irwin emphasized his sister's call for women's health to be taken more seriously.
"It's an ongoing battle," he told E! News in September. "Endometriosis is one of those things where it's not a quick fix."
"It is something that needs to be in the forefront of discussions," Robert, 22, continued. "Women's health throughout history - and even now - is just underdiscussed, under researched."
"We really need advocates to stand up," he added, "and to get the word out there - men and women."
