Bindi Irwin and her mother, Terri Irwin, were unable to attend their family’s Steve Irwin Gala in Las Vegas over the weekend, after the 26-year-old was forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove her appendix.
Bindi Irwin’s younger brother, Robert Irwin, shared the news on May 10 while speaking at the event.
The annual fundraiser celebrates the life and legacy of their late father, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who died on Sept. 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being attacked by a stingray while filming off the coast of Australia.
“My sister planned on being here—she came all the way to Vegas, she was literally just here, and she was ready to come on to this stage—but her appendix had other ideas in mind.”
Robert Irwin called his sister a “trooper,” noting that she had been dealing with problems related to her appendix for quite some time.
“She’s an incredible person,” he said. “She defines that warrior spirit, that’s for sure,” he said.
The wildlife photographer said his mother, who married Steve Irwin in 1992, was also “on appendix duty” and was caring for his sister while she was in the hospital.
Bindi Irwin married former professional wakeboarder Chandler Powell on March 25, 2020. The couple went on to welcome their first child, daughter Grace, on their one-year wedding anniversary.
In March 2023, Bindi Irwin revealed that she had undergone surgery to treat her endometriosis, a chronic disease that causes tissue to develop outside the uterus.
On Instagram, the zookeeper said that she had been suffering from “insurmountable fatigue, pain, and nausea” for the past 10 years as a result of the condition.
Bindi Irwin said doctors discovered 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst, a blood-filled sac on the ovary.
“After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter,” the conservationist said. “She feels like our family’s miracle.”
