Much-loved Australian conservationist Bindi Irwin has gone public with a private health battle that her younger brother Robert says has caused her a “decade of pain”.
Irwin posted a candid photo to Instagram this morning of herself in a hospital bed, with the 24-year-old mum of one revealing in an accompanying caption that she had been living with “insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” for the past decade because of endometriosis.
Bindi, daughter to late wildlife expert and TV presenter Steve, wrote that she undergone “many tests, doctors visits, scans” as she tried to have the painful disease of the uterus diagnosed and treated. Endometriosis is a condition in which the cells that line the uterus also grow in other parts of the body, which can cause painful scar tissue.
“I battled for a long time wondering if I should share this journey with you in such a public space. It came down to the responsibility I feel to share my story for other women who need help,” she wrote in the post, shared on International Women’s Day.
“Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road.”