* “Survivor 51” spoilers ahead! *
While Brady Booker’s time on “Survivor 51” may have come to an end due to a “brutal blindside,” he’s still creating plenty of buzz. For instance, he made a major decision that will impact the outcome of the entire season and responded to some of the iffy opinions other players have shared about him.
Now, he’s offered an update on the state of his thumb after suffering a seriously nasty injury while the cameras were rolling, and revealed the truly unusual thing he did with his severed body part.
Brady Turned the Piece of His Severed Thumb Into an Accessory
During Episode 2 of “Survivor 51,” viewers watched as Brady accidentally chopped off part of his thumb while using a machete. Although his major concern at the time was the injury potentially taking him out of the game, he powered through.
Now, months after the season was filmed in Fiji, Parade asked Brady what happened to his thumb both in the days after he was injured and following his elimination in Episode 7.
“It was sitting in a cooler,” Brady noted. “And then when time arose, when people started asking questions about it, they asked me what I wanted to do with it. There was kind of a talk that you can’t bring flesh across international waters; I guess I never really thought of that. As white as it was at the time, it kind of looked like a scallop still in the shell, so maybe we could pass as that.”
While that’s certainly an interesting idea, something very different ended up happening to the piece of Brady’s thumb. He told Parade, “But no, they ended up putting it in some resin, putting it in a necklace. When I got back, we put a clasp on it.”
As for the state of Brady’s thumb now (the part that’s still attached), he told Gold Derby, “It grew back, dog! You can’t even tell. I’ll post a picture of the lopped-off piece, but it’s impressive. I’m half axolotl, I guess. I didn’t know people were built like that, dog. God truly made us to overcome adversity. Hey, you chop off a little bit of your finger? Don’t worry, dog, it’ll grow back. Just keep the process going, keep pushing.”
This Is Far From the First Major ‘Survivor’ Injury
When contestants find themselves cast on “Survivor,” they know that they’ll face both mental and physical challenges. As for the latter, they have to go up against enduring hunger and intense activities, not to mention the potential for illness or injury. As you might imagine, not everyone has escaped unscathed.
“Survivor contestants have survived some pretty serious medical emergencies,” People pointed out back in October. “The hit CBS competition series, which premiered in 2000, first featured a medical evacuation during season 2 when Michael Skupin fell into a fire and was badly burned. Since then, several players have endured gruesome mishaps.”
Indeed, People continues by mentioning the fact that “[o]ver the years, more scary moments have come from a venomous snake, exhausting challenges and harsh weather,” while castaways have also “been plagued by severe heatstroke and constipation, among other medical problems.”
Just last season, Kyle Fraser went through an emotional medical evacuation after viewers watched him tear his Achilles tendon.
Brady’s injury may have been notable — and will go down as one of the gnarliest in “Survivor” history — but it definitely wasn’t the first and very likely won’t be the last.
‘Survivor 51’s Brady Reveals the Unbelievable Thing He Did With His Severed Thumb