Viewers of the Wednesday, September 30 edition of “Survivor” witnessed one of the show’s most gruesome injuries while castaway Brady Booker was chopping wood with a machete.
That simple chore, however, took a horrifying turn when he rushed to his tribe-mates cradling his blood-soaked hands.
“Oh my god,” a contestant can be heard exclaiming offscreen.
A Nasty Accident
As his blood pours onto the ground, Booker tells the other members of his tribe what happened.
“Damn it, that was stupid,” Booker declares.
“I just screwed myself out of the game,” he continues, holding his injured hand above his head
“What was I thinking?” he adds.
“He has amazingly little care for the injury itself, and an amazing amount of care for, is he going to be pulled from the game,” observes fellow tribe member Mike Pinksy.
‘An Experience Unlike Any Other’
At that point, Booker reveals the severity of his injury.
“I’m missing a quarter of my thumb,” he announces, wincing in pain.
Booker then finds the missing chunk of his digit, seen on-camera in a close-up.
Fellow castaway Patt Cannaday is then seen holding the sliced-off piece of flesh in a seashell while they await the doctor.
“I’m just trying to calm Brady down and also holding a portion of his thumb in a little shell,” Cannaday says in a cofessional. “It was an experience unlike any other.”
‘Looking Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad’
As they come to understand the severity of Booker’s injury, his tribe-mates are not optimistic about his future in Season 51.
“Honestly, I don’t know how he’s not like screaming out in pain,” says Jenna Doore in a confessional. “But it is looking bad, bad, bad, bad.”
“I look at that hunk of meat — I mean, it’s huge,” adds Maggie Nestor. “And I’m like, ‘He’s out. There’s no way he’s going to stay in this game.’“
Booker is wondering the same thing.“Did I just knock myself out of the game?” he asks a producer.
When Dr. Barry arrives, Booker tells the physician he was splitting wood when the machete accidentally “lopped it off” — and then immediately declares he wants to stay in the game.
“I just don’t want to be an idiot who lost the biggest opportunity of his life,” Booker explains.
The doctor offers good news: he can wrap the wound, and give him antibiotics to guard against infection, and clears Booker to remain in the game.
“I would kiss you,” the elated pro wrestler tells the doctor.
‘Like New Life’
In a confessional, Booker explains that he felt like he received a second chance, “When doc told me I can stay in this game, it was like new life,” he shared. “Sure, it’s a little numb, but I can touch all the fingers, I can touch far end, I can clap, I can grab. Sure, brodie, pain exists, but I would rather feel pain than nothing at all.”
Booker is then seen making an unusual request of the doctor, asking him to present the severed thumb fragment fo host Jeff Probst.
“That I can do,” the doctor agrees.
“Doc takes my thumb, puts it in that plastic bag and then just sticks it in his pocket. It was one of the weirdest exchanges of my life, but one of the best exchanges of my life because at the end of it, I got to know I get to stay in this game,” Booker later observes.
Probst later confirms that he did indeed take a look at the severed thunb.“Sure enough. That’s the tip of a human thumb. Another ‘Survivor’ first,” Probst wrote in his field notes before revealing Booker’s other request.
“Brady had a great sense of humor as he pleaded with our medical team to wrap the piece of thumb and put it in a cooler to save for him after the show so he could take it home,” Probst added. “Talk about a one-of-a-kind ‘Survivor’ souvenir. Most players are happy with a treemail.”
“Survivor” Season 51 continues to air each Wednesday on CBS.
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‘Survivor’ Contestant Slices Hand with Machete in Blood-Soaked Onscreen Accident: ‘Looking Bad’