The 26-year-old was in Las Vegas for the Steve Irwin Gala on Saturday, May 10, when she was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
The sudden scare left her unable to attend the event, where she had planned to honor her father and continue her family’s Wildlife Warriors mission.
Bindi’s younger brother, Robert Irwin, 21, stepped in to speak on her behalf at the gala, confirming the news that Bindi’s appendix had ruptured.
“She’s going to be OK, but surgery — out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” he told PEOPLE.
Robert also revealed their mother, Terri Irwin, 60, had skipped the gala to stay by Bindi’s side at the hospital. “She’s just come out the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes,” he said. “Health is so important — it really is.”
Despite the intense pain, Bindi had still planned to attend the gala.
“She came to Las Vegas and 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 shared.
“But the surgeon said, ‘No, your appendix is going. That thing’s gotta come out.’ Health has to come first.”
Shortly after surgery, Bindi took to Instagram to speak directly to her fans, filming a heartfelt video from her hospital bed.
“Hey guys, Bindi here. I just wanted to thank you so much for your incredible well wishes. I just got out of surgery about an hour ago,” she began, visibly groggy but determined to give an update.
“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 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 am so lucky to have so much love in my life from my beautiful family.”
Her husband of five years, Chandler Powell, was quick to comment: “Strongest person I know.” Robert also shared his support under the post, writing: “Stay strong Bindi! Love you!”
Bindi’s latest operation comes after a years-long struggle with endometriosis — a painful condition in which cells similar to the lining of the uterus grow elsewhere in the body, forming scar tissue.
She went public with her diagnosis in March 2023, revealing she had endured “insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” for more than a decade.
In a powerful Instagram post, she shared: “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, and a chocolate cyst.”
She recalled her surgeon’s gut-wrenching words after the procedure: “How did you live with this much pain?”
On the A Life of Greatness podcast, Bindi shared how few people knew what she was really going through: “The only people that knew that I was incredibly unwell… my husband, my mom, and my brother, and behind closed doors I was struggling to do anything and everything.”
She added that doctors often dismissed her symptoms as IBS, hormonal changes, or “just being a woman”.
“The symptoms continued to snowball, and it took me such a long time to find help and it’s a story that so many women and girls know all too well,” she said.
