Bindi Irwin and husband Chandler Powell.Photo:Bindi Irwin/Instagram
Bindi Irwin/Instagram
Bindi Irwinhit a new high in herrecovery from endometriosis.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, the wildlife conservationist, 26, shared a post onInstagramcelebrating the fact that she got to enjoy her first “big hike” in years after being treated for the condition.
“A day spent hiking over 10 miles, across 3 mountains with my best friend. ❤️,” she wrote, referring to her husbandChandler Powell, who joined her for the experience.
“My first big hike in YEARS since endometriosis took away so much,” she continued. “I cried quite a few happy tears. Endless gratitude in my heart.@chandlerpowell- I’ll remember this day forever.”
Bindi Irwin poses for a photo during her hike.Bindi Irwin/Instagram
Bindi — who shares 3-year-old daughterGracewith Powell, 28 — has been very candid about her journey with endometriosis which, according to theMayo Clinic, is “an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.”
After enduring a decade of debilitating pain and fatigue, Bindirevealed in March 2023that she was diagnosed with endometriosis after undergoing a laparoscopy during which doctors found 37 lesions and a cyst on her ovary, which sheeventually had removed via surgery. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in August 2023, she shared that the diagnosis validated everything she had been experiencing.
“Looking back, it was always endometriosis,” she said. “My symptoms line up perfectly. I wish so much I could have had this surgery years ago. My pain was in the driver’s seat, and everything else took a back seat. But I believe everything happens for a reason and that I had the surgery at the exact right time.”
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At the time, she shared that she was steadily recovering and feeling like she had “a second chance at life.”
“It’s not like a light switch, but every week I feel like I’m able to do a little bit more,” she told PEOPLE. “Now I wake up in the morning, and I don’t have to take anti-nausea medicine or have my heat pack. Being able to go for a walk with my daughter and not feeling like I have to throw up in the bushes is just wild to me.”
She added: “I feel brand new.”
Bindi Irwin, Chandler Powell and their daughter Grace.Bindi Irwin Instagram
Bindi Irwin Instagram
Last May, Bindi was honored with the 2024 EndoFound Blossom Award from the Endometriosis Foundation of America. Speaking to the audience at the New York City event, she shared more reflections on how her life has changed since receiving treatment.
“I am no longer a shadow of myself,” she said. “I hated looking in the mirror, because all I could see was the pain and I felt like I had lost myself."
“And now I feel like I’m gaining my sense of self again,” she continued. “I’m realizing that I am so much more than my pain, and that’s something we all have to remember.”
Bindi Irwin in May 2024.Ethan Miller/Getty
Ethan Miller/Getty
She recounted how her endometriosis pain worsened after she gave birth to Grace in March 2021.
“My pain escalated to new heights. It utterly consumed my life,” she told the audience. “All I wanted was to be there for my daughter, but endometriosis was sucking away every last piece of joy and my ability to function in life.”
But since being treated, she said, “I feel more alive than I have since I was a tiny child.” Bindi also noted that she has chosen to share her personal story in the hopes that it will give others the “validation that their pain is real” and that “they deserve answers” about their health.
source: people.com
