Recovering Emma Watkins thanks The Wiggles: “The most caring, gentle men”
As The Wiggles announce an all-new tour of the country, yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins reveals just how difficult her recent health battle was – and what (or should we say who?!) helped get her through.
Blood transfusions
Emma’s on the slow path to recovery after undergoing surgery for stage 4 endometriosis. It’s only now that much better days are in sight, that she’s able to reflect on how difficult the last year or so has been.
Her mum, Kathryn, says Emma’s a trooper, super keen to not let little Wiggles fans down.
“Even the day before her surgery she did three concerts, and then flew home that night,” Kathryn told the Australian Women’s Weekly. “She had to have blood transfusions between the shows to keep her blood cell count up.”
“I feel we have a duty to the children,” Emma told the AWW. “It’s really about empowering every child and at that age, it’s a very primal communication. Each one thinks that we are talking directly to them. It’s entirely the reason for The Wiggles’ success.”
Read more about Emma Watkins:
- Emma Watkins drops out of The Wiggles tour due to health challenges
- Emma Wiggle was “freaking out” over deteriorating health
- Fans think this photo means there’s a baby Wiggle on the way
“Bleeding every day for over six months”
Emma reveals the seriousness of her condition caught her by surprise. She thought her hard-working body was just a little bit messed up, and the fact that her symptoms were centred around her reproductive system meant she was hesitant to talk about it.
“As a dancer, I’ve always been used to pushing through, so even though I was bleeding every day for over six months, initially I thought it was just touring and constantly changing time zones. I guess there was also an assumption on my part that it wasn’t appropriate to mention it.”
Once she did reveal how sick she was to her Wiggles bandmates they were mortified she’d been suffering in silence and swung into action to support her.
“They are the most caring, gentle men but it just sort of snowballed and before I knew it, I was having an operation.”
“It was quite frightening”
Endometriosis is a condition where the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, in other parts of a woman’s body. It can cause pain, bleeding and/or infertility. Diagnosis can be elusive, and often put down to routine ‘time of the month’ issues. On average, women live with endometriosis for seven years before being diagnosed and treated.
Emma is now an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia but admits she found her new role a little tricky at the start. She was yet to undergo surgery to treat her own endometriosis, but realised that the condition needed to be demystified as thousands of other women around the country were suffering too.
“It was quite frightening for me the first time I went on TV and talked about it – the cysts, the bleeding, getting all the facts straight. I talked about it very bluntly but it didn’t occur to me to speak any other way. And I received so much support from people thanking me for speaking so frankly.”
We’re so glad she’s spoken out so frankly too, and hopefully other women who are living with pelvic pain or bleeding will seek help STAT.
The Wiggle Pop! Big Show tour
The Wiggles just announced all the details for their brand new Wiggle Pop! Big Show tour. They’re heading to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Hobart, Launceston and Brisbane.
Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, and Henry the Octopus, Emma, Lachy, Simon and Anthony will be singing and Wiggling up a storm, complete with dancing reindeers and even Santa Claus himself.
Tickets go on sale at 10am next Thursday July 26. Pop the date in your diary and head here to find out more or snap yours up!
