"How did you live with this much pain?": Bindi Irwin hospitalised
Bindi Irwin has issued an emotional statement on social media after undergoing surgery for endometriosis.
The beloved Australian conservationist has been battling with the condition for 10 years, and detailed in her post what it had been like to struggle with “insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea.”
She confessed that she had spent a long time wondering whether or not she should share her story, but ultimately believed it to be her “responsibility” to share her story for others like her who haven’t been able to get the help they desperately need for their condition.
“I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story,” Bindi wrote, “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.”
According to the World Health Organisation, endometriosis - a chronic disease for which there is no known cure - affects approximately 10% of the world’s population of women, girls, and gender diverse individuals of a reproductive age (that’s roughly 190 million people). It is associated with severe pain during periods, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and even infertility.
However, the symptoms can be so varied that healthcare professionals often struggle to diagnose the condition, and that many sufferers don’t know enough to put a name to it. Due to this, there are often large spans of time between first noticing symptoms, getting a formal diagnosis, and getting help.
“These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc.,” Bindi explained in her caption. “A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain.”
“I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis,” she continued, after noting that a friend had helped steer in the right direction. “Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn’t live like I was. Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain.
“To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep & difficult to remove, & a chocolate cyst. @seckinmd’s [Bindi’s doctor] first words to me when I was in recovery were, ‘How did you live with this much pain?’”
Bindi, in true Irwin fashion, took the time to pay tribute to the support of her family and friends who had been on that journey with her for over a decade, and wrote of the “indescribable” relief at the “validation for years of pain”.
“THANK YOU,” she gushed, “for encouraging me to find answers when I thought I’d never climb out. Thank you to the doctors & nurses who believed my pain. I’m on the road to recovery & the gratitude I feel is overwhelming.
“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. She feels like our family’s miracle.”
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, for more information visit:
Images: Instagram