Steve Irwin's Daughter Bindi Breaks Silence On Hospitalization

Bindi Irwin, the daughter of conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin, broke her silence after her sudden hospitalization, which forced her to miss the annual gala honoring her late father in Las Vegas on Saturday (May 10).

Bindi, 26, shared a video of herself from a bed at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City confirming she underwent emergency surgery to have her appendix and "14 new endometriosis lesions" removed, as well as a hernia "stitched up."

“Hey, guys. Bindi here. I just want to say thank you so much for your incredible well-wishes,” she said.

“I just got out of surgery about an hour ago. I had my appendix removed,” she continued. “I also had 14 new endometriosis lesions that had to be removed, and they kindly stitched up my hernia as well.”

Bindi added that she was "forever grateful to Dr. Seckin and the entire team at Lenox Hill Hospital," as well as showing her gratitude to fans for their "kind words and support" amid reports of her surgery.

“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. I am so lucky to have so much love in my life from my beautiful family," she added.

Bindi's brother, Robert, had previously confirmed his sister's surgery to PEOPLE amid her absence from the Steve Irwin Gala in Las Vegas this past weekend.

“She’s going to be OK, but surgery — out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” Robert said at the event in Las Vegas.

“She’s just come out the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes,” he added. “Health is so important — it really is.”

Bindi, who had previously undergone surgery for endometriosis in March 2023, planned to attend the event despite recent health issues, according to her brother.

“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 said. “But the surgeon said, ‘No, your appendix is going. That thing’s gotta come out.’ Health has to come first.”

Bindi's mother, Terri, also missed the event honoring her late husband in order to help her daughter recover, according to Robert.

“She’s very sad,” he said about Bindi. “She’s devastated that she and Mom can’t be here, but I know she’ll make a speedy recovery.”

Bindi and Robert followed in their late father's footsteps as conservationists and zookeepers. Steve Irwin, the son of Bob Irwin, who founded the Australian Zoo, which is now owned by Terri, died in 2006 from an injury caused by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.