Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late 'Crocodile Hunter,' Steve Irwin, has become a much beloved environmentalist icon, especially in recent years while teaming up alongside her brother Robert, her husband Chandler and their young daughter, Grace.
But behind the façade of happiness and a giving spirit, Bindi Irwin endured a decade-long struggle with chronic pain that she was told was part of "being a woman."
With a friend's insistence, Irwin recently began searching again for answers to her pain after listening to prior doctors' advice to ignore her symptoms. What she uncovered was endometriosis and a fairly advanced case at that.
Irwin decided to pursue surgery to correct her condition, but she was concerned about how to navigate social media coverage and her other various public engagements.
After some reflection, Irwin thought of how she had been previously treated and advised to ignore her condition, so she used her own experience with surgery as a teachable moment for others with undiagnosed ailments.
You can see the post here:
Irwin wrote:
"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 with other women who need help."
"For 10 years, I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain, and nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road. These last 10 years have included many tests, doctor visits, scans, etc."
"A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman, and I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain."
"I didn’t find answers until a friend helped set me on a path of regaining my life."
"I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis. 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."
She added:
"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 and 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. I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story."
"There’s a stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this and is quietly dealing with pain and no answers. Let this be your validation that your pain is real and you deserve help. Keep searching for answers."
Quite fittingly, the first two comments were from two of the leading men in Irwin's life: her husband and her brother.
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
Fans also offered support.
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
@bindisueirwin/Instagram
The Instagram post quickly took off, now with more than 955,000 likes, comments, and shares.
Many of Irwin's followers were grateful she shared this portion of her journey and what her experience with endometriosis—a commonly underdiagnosed and misunderstood condition—was like.
NBC News via Lisa Anderson