Bindi Irwin has been rushed to hospital just hours after touching down in Las Vegas for a gala honouring her late father. 

The 26-year-old conservationist experienced a ruptured appendix and had to undergo emergency surgery on Saturday. This unfortunate incident caused her to miss a prestigious event that she was scheduled to attend with her brother, Robert Irwin, and mother, Terri Irwin.

Robert told People magazine that Bindi is recovering and her mother is at her bedside. 

‘She’s going to be okay, but surgery – out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,’ Robert explained. 

Terri also missed the event while accompanying her daughter to hospital and staying by her side through surgery. 

Robert explained that Bindi had been suffering some pain in the lead up to the gala but had tried to soldier on. 

Bindi Irwin has been rushed to hospital just hours after touching down in Las Vegas for a gala honouring her late father. Pictured during an earlier hospital visit 

‘She came to Las Vegas and was ready to put on a brave face. She said, “I’m just going to tough it out.”

‘But the surgeon told her, “Your appendix is going. It’s got to come out.”‘

Both Terri and Bindi missed the gala, which raises fund for their organisation Wildlife Warriors, but Robert was able to attend, where he shared the grim news. 

It’s not the first time Bindi has suffered ill health in recent years.  

In a rare interview, the media personality opened up about the hidden struggles she faced behind closed doors.

Speaking to Sarah Grynberg on a new episode of the A Life of Greatness podcast, she shared insights into her grief, chronic illness, and the importance of speaking up for women’s health.

For more than a decade, Bindi battled severe, undiagnosed health issues that she kept private, known only to her husband Chandler Powell, mum Terri, and younger brother Robert.

‘Behind closed doors I was struggling to do anything and everything,’ she said. 

The conservationist, 26, suffered a ruptured appendix and was raced into surgery on Saturday, missing the prestigious event, which she was due to attend alongside brother Robert Irwin and mother Terri Irwin. The trio are pictured after arriving in Las Vegas this weekend  

She was in constant pain, extreme fatigue, and forced to cancel work commitments, often leaving her feeling isolated and misunderstood.

‘I think people must have thought I was just incredibly flaky because I was getting so sick… I would try to get up, and I really would just throw up. I was in so much pain all the time,’ Bindi said. 

After years of being told by doctors that her symptoms were ‘just part of being a woman’, she finally found the answer to her long-standing struggle: endometriosis.

Bindi was eventually diagnosed with over 30 lesions of endometriosis, some so debilitating they had adhered her ovary to her side.

She underwent surgery in the United States, a procedure that changed her life.

‘Endometriosis is an enormous problem for so many people, and it’s not talked about enough. I went 10 years undiagnosed because doctors didn’t know enough,’ she said.

She explained how many women with endometriosis are misdiagnosed with conditions like IBS or hormonal issues, leading them to suffer in silence for years.

Bindi said she underwent every scan and test imaginable, including CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds and blood tests for ‘every tropical disease’ but ‘nothing came back’. 

Robert explained that Bindi had been suffering some pain in the lead up to the gala but had tried to soldier on. Pictured in Las Vegas

‘I was so sick for so long,’ she said. 

Fortunately for Bindi, her family was always by her side.

‘I was so lucky where I had such a supportive family and they never gave up on me,’ she said. 

‘They dealt with it for 10 years just as much as I did, trying to find answers and helping me along the way and saying, ‘Hey, you’re collapsed on the floor. You probably should get some help and you shouldn’t listen to the doctors saying this is normal’.

‘But so many people don’t have that circle of people that they can count on. And so you turn to the medical industry looking for assistance and it can cause anxiety and depression – it’s very isolating.

‘And that’s where it just is so difficult. So you turn to people who you think will help you, and sometimes you don’t get the care that you so desperately deserve.’ 

Bindi credits the birth of her daughter Grace as the catalyst that pushed her to seek medical answers after years of suffering.

‘When I was so sick, it was hard to be the mum I wanted to be. Then I thought, I have to do something. This can’t just all be in my head,’ she explained. 

‘She’s going to be okay, but surgery – out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,’ Robert explained. Pictured at last year’s gala

After surgery, Bindi says she is in a much better place, but she acknowledges that endometriosis has no cure.

‘There’s no cure, but if you get surgery, you have a better shot at life. Maybe in five or 10 years, I’ll need another one, but for now, I’m so grateful.’

Bindi is now using her platform and voice to advocate for better education in women’s healthcare, particularly around endometriosis.

She hopes that by sharing her story, more women will feel empowered to advocate for their health and push for better diagnosis and treatment options. 

‘I was so scared to share my story because I thought it was all in my head. After a dozen doctors tell you you’re crazy, you start to believe them,’ Bindi said.

Bindi has taken it upon herself to raise awareness about the crippling condition.

‘If you are having a hard time, if your periods are really painful, please go get help. Please get assistance because it is a really scary disease,’ she said.

Despite her struggles, Bindi remains committed to her family’s mission of wildlife conservation, carrying on the work of her late father while also paving her own path.

Bindi has suffered ill health in recent years as she battled with endometriosis.  Pictured with husband Chandler Powell and daughter Grace 

‘I try to be that glass half full kind of person. Even in difficult times, I believe we are in control of how we treat others and how we view the world,’ she said. 

And if there’s one lesson she hopes to pass on to her daughter, it’s to live with passion, purpose, and resilience – just as her father did.

Recalling the heartbreaking moment their world was turned upside down, Bindi reflected on the sheer weight that fell upon her mother’s shoulders in the wake of Steve’s death.

‘They were a team,’ she said. ‘And then the whole world shifted and landed on her shoulders. And yet, through it all, she was there for me and Robert and still is to this day.’

Bindi also revealed that losing her dad made her fiercely protective of her mother and younger brother Robert, which led to severe separation anxiety.

‘It was really scary,’ she admitted. ‘After you lose the strongest person in your life, you worry about losing everyone else too.’

Despite the unimaginable loss, Terri found ways to guide her children through grief, introducing a simple but powerful nightly ritual to keep them grounded.

‘She started this game after we lost Dad,’ Bindi explained. ‘Every day, we’d say: What are we thankful for? What was our good deed for the day? And what are we looking forward to tomorrow?

Steve (pictured with Bindi as a child) tragically passed away in 2006 after being struck by a stingray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef. Funds raised from the gala support Wildlife Warriors, the conservation charity Steve and Terri founded in 2002

‘Some days are just crappy, and your shower is the only thing you can be thankful for,’ Bindi laughed. ‘But you’re still thankful for it. And that’s what matters.’

Now, as a mother herself to daughter Grace, Bindi says she hopes to pass on the same values that her parents instilled in her – kindness, resilience, and an unwavering dedication to wildlife conservation.

Steve tragically passed away in 2006 after being struck by a stingray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef.

Funds raised from the gala support Wildlife Warriors, the conservation charity Steve and Terri founded in 2002.