Bindi Irwin is “on the road to recovery” after suffering a ruptured appendix.
Bindi, 26, took to Instagram on Monday, May 12, to share a health update from her hospital bed. Two days prior to her video post, she had to miss her late father Steve Irwin’s annual gala in Las Vegas when she underwent emergency surgery to remove her appendix.
“I just got out of surgery about an hour ago,” Bindi told her followers, looking exhausted. “I had my appendix removed. I also had 14 new endometriosis lesions [that] had to be removed, and they kindly stitched up my hernia as well.”
She thanked her doctors and added, “I’m sorry if I’m a little out of it in this video, but I just wanted you to know that I’m on the road to recovery, one step at a time. And I’m so lucky to have so much love in my life.”
In the caption that accompanied the post, Bindi called the surgery “a success” and elaborated on her medical history, explaining that doctors repaired “a large hernia I acquired through childbirth four years ago” and removed 14 endometriosis lesions amid her ongoing struggle with the disease. (Two years ago, she had 37 lesions and a cyst taken out.)
Bindi — who shares daughter Grace, born March 2021, with husband Chandler Powell — also thanked “dear Chandler & sweet Grace” for their support as well as her mother Terri Irwin “for being there with me every step of the way.”
She said that she planned to attend the next Steve Irwin Gala in Brisbane, Australia, in November.
After sharing her Monday update, Bindi received numerous messages of support in the comments section, including from Powell, 28, who wrote, “Strongest person I know ❤️.”
Bindi’s brother, Robert Irwin, addressed her condition on Saturday, May 10, telling People, “She’s going to be OK, but surgery — out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them. She’s just come out the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes. Health is so important — it really is.”
Terri, 60, had also missed Saturday’s gala to care for the star of Crikey! It’s the Irwins.
“[Bindi] was ready to come to the gala, put on a brave face in a lot of discomfort and a lot of pain and said, ‘Nope, I’m just going to tough it out, I’m going to go for it,’” Robert said. “But the surgeon said, ‘No, your appendix is going. That thing’s gotta come out.’ Health has to come first. She’s very sad. She’s devastated that she and Mom can’t be here, but I know she’ll make a speedy recovery.”
