The 26-year-old Australian reality star – who is the daughter of late conservationist Steve Irwin – was due to attend a gala in honour of her father over the weekend.
However, she was absent from the event in Las Vegas – and her younger brother Robert Irwin, 26, revealed this was due to a health emergency.
He explained to PEOPLE, “(Her appendix 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 went on to reveal that their mother, 60-year-old Terri Irwin, would be skipping the gala to care for Bindi during her health battle.
Robert added, “(Bindi’s) just come out the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes. Health is so important – it really is.”
He shared she had initially planned to ‘tough it out,’ and attend the event but doctors advised her otherwise.
“The surgeon said, ‘No, your appendix is going. That thing’s gotta come out.’ Health has to come first.”
Bindi has recently been open about her 10-year battle with endometriosis. In interviews she revealed how she underwent numerous tests over a number of years to try and understand what was causing her health challenges.
In a post on Instagram Bindi revealed she had undergone surgery for the condition. She said despite constantly seeking answers, she was previously told by a doctor that the pain was “simply something you deal with as a woman.”
“I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain.”
Bindi’s father, Zookeeper and television personality Steve Irwin tragically died at the age of 44 in September 2006 after he was pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray barb while filming a wildlife programme in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
A Gala Dinner is held annually in Brisbane and Las Vegas in memory of the late animal expert – with funds raised from the event donated to charity to continue the conservation work that Steve was so passionate about.
