Bindi Irwin Receives Blossom Award at EndoFound’s 12th Annual Blossom Ball

Blossom Ball is the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s (EndoFound) premiere fundraising event since 2009. This year, the Blossom Award went global by honoring Bindi Irwin, a well-known wildlife conservationist from Australia.

Appreciation of life towards creating endometriosis awareness

Bindi Irwin, 25, is the daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin, household names worldwide in matters of wildlife conservation. 

Bindi continues to follow in her father’s footsteps and is currently the chief executive officer of the Australia Zoo. She has been filming wildlife documentaries since childhood alongside her father and has recently finished filming four seasons of “Crikey! It’s the Irwins” for Animal Planet.

Bindi continues to run Wildlife Warriors, a charity set up by her parents in 2002. Wildlife Warriors supports 12 global conservation projects, three conservation properties amounting to half a million acres, and a wildlife hospital, which has treated over 130,000 patients. Bindi is now researching saltwater crocodiles together with the University of Queensland in what is the longest telemetry study on any individual animal anywhere in the world.

EndoFound co-founder Dr. Tamer Seckin said honoring Bindi Irwin with the Blossom Award will “ignite a global endometriosis revolution”.

“Bindi’s outreach and advocacy can pave the way for early diagnosis of endometriosis in hundreds of thousands more women and adolescents”, Dr. Seckin.

Bindi’s travails with endometriosis

Speaking to People.com, Bindi said she was honored to receive this year’s Blossom Award.

Bindi struggled for more than 10 years with debilitating pain, fatigue, and nausea. But she did not know what was causing them. She described her symptoms in an Instagram post as “insurmountable”. Countless visits to doctors, tests, and scans could not unearth the reason for her symptoms, which were brushed off by her doctors.

It was only in August 2022, upon encouragement from a close friend, Leslie Mosier, that Bindi underwent laparoscopy. Thanks to his expertise in excision surgery, Dr. Seckin discovered and removed 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst.

Bindi recollects Dr. Seckin’s words during recovery:

“How did you live with this much pain?”

She feels that this year’s Blossom Award is more than just a recognition of her efforts against the disease. 

“The Blossom Award signifies more than a recognition of my journey. It is a powerful celebration of the strength within every individual facing this often-overlooked public health issue and the unwavering resilience of the 200 million-plus Endo Warriors worldwide. Moreover, it is crucial to recognize that the Blossom Ball fundraiser serves as the key to educating the public, our elected officials, and medical professionals worldwide about this widespread issue”, she said.

Bindi is hopeful that her platform can help increase awareness about endometriosis. She is hopeful that collective efforts can help support women and one day lead to a cure for the disease.

About the Blossom Ball

Dr. Seckin co-founded EndoFound with Padma Lakshmi in 2009. It holds an annual Blossom Ball that brings together pioneers in endometriosis research, medicine, and advocacy. Proceeds from the Blossom Ball go towards ongoing initiatives to spread awareness, reduce long diagnosis times, and fund research towards finding a cure.

The 2024 Blossom Ball took place on May 3 as a black-tie evening. As always, it included a cocktail reception followed by a seated dinner, a musical performance, a live auction with professional auctioneer Harry Santa-Olalla, and an after-party with dancing.