Lilly Van der Meer, best known for her role on Neighbours, has opened up online about her ongoing battle with endometriosis.
Sharing photos and videos from her hospital bed, the 21-year-old revealed she was due to undergo surgery for the disorder.
Understandably, Lilly revealed she was anxious, particularly given a bad experience in the past which led to a nasty infection.
“I’m in the waiting room about to go in and suddenly feeling very anxious. I’m sitting here now just deciphering all the possibilities (I had an awful experience with laparoscopy 2 years ago and had to spend an extra 3 weeks in hospital with an infection) I’m nervous that’s going to happen again,” Lilly wrote.
The star took to Instagram following surgery to give fans an update.
“Just woke up to the news that surgery went really well. They removed more endometriosis and a huge build up of scar tissue from my last surgery.
“I still have stage 4 endo but grateful to have closure on this pain and am so lucky to have a really supportive team at the hospital.”
Lilly also shared a series of videos from her bed praising her gynecologist and the teams at hospital before telling fans she saw many doctors before finding the right one and imploring anyone going through endometriosis to do the same.
The actress said goodbye to her Ramsay Street character, Xanthe Canning, in 2019 and departed for Hollywood.
The actress told TV WEEK that Neighbours was more than a stepping stone, it was a great show you could “stay [on] for a very long time.”
Still, she felt it was her time to move on and take the leap to pursue a career overseas.
“There was so much I learnt on set and so much more I could have learnt,” she explains. “I’ve taken away all these skills and knowledge from the show and now I’m free to venture out on my own.”