The medically evacuated player takes us through everything that happened that didn’t make it on camera.
Well, that couldn’t have gone much worse.
He was taken away on a stretcher just 12 hours after he started playing.
Bruce Perreault on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
But Bruce’sSurvivorstory could still end up having a happy ending.
you might either watch the interview in the video above or read it below.
Also see to it to check out ourinterview with the ousted Maddy Pomilla.
The Tika tribe of ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
I went in hard.
I wanted to play the game hard right off the bat.
And, yeah, impact ensued.
Jeff Probst and the cast of ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
What are you feeling there?
It definitely had to have been an adrenaline dump.
], and then immediately I started thinking.
The ‘Survivor 44’ cast.Robert Voets/CBS
I already saw the blood dripping down.
It was dripping down on the puzzle piece.
I saw it on my hand when I wiped my head.
You seemed to improve somewhat and you were cleared to continue.
When did things start to go bad again after you got back to the beach?
Once we got back to the beach, there was a part we didn’t get to see.
And that was it.
That was the start to the end.
The pain level was at seven already, and then it just immediately went to a 10.
What was the diagnosis.
It looked like a concussion?
It was a straight-up concussion.
That freaked me out the most.
If they came to me and said, “Bruce, listen, you got a concussion.
But once they said that, I started freaking out.
They knew they were not taking a chance at all.
I was feeling absolute dread.
It was just a wave of emotions.
I did not want them to pick me up off the ground.
I didn’t wanna go.
Because, first off, my tribe, they’re awesome.
Every single one of them were awesome.
And it wasn’t even just because of me getting medevaced out.
They were awesome from the beginning.
We had a camaraderie [and] gelled together so quickly.
So what happened after they put you on that stretcher and on that boat?
It was a whirlwind.
And then from the mainland it was a two-and-a-half-hour ambulance ride to the hospital.
It was raining out and the pilot didn’t want to fly in those conditions.
And I appreciate that because I didn’t want nothing going wrong.
I got to the hospital.
Some of the nicest people in the entire world, they made me comfortable.
The pain was gone from what they gave me.
I got a CT scan and they determined that everything was perfectly fine.
They kept me for observation for about six hours and then I was able to go back to Ponderosa.
I know with concussions, the symptoms can come and go.
you could feel okay, and then a day or two later you’re not feeling so great.
There’s a recovery process and everyone’s experience is completely different.
So what was it like for you?
When did you start to feel some relief and were there some aftershocks?
The aftershocks were reliving everything in my head over and over and over again.
But once I got back to Ponderosa, I stayed in a room, blinds closed.
I coached football for 11 years, and so I know the concussion protocol.
No TV, no anything.
The lights were dimmed.
I stayed in my room and I was in my room for three days.
the symptoms of the concussion came back.
It’s no joke.
It took about three days to kind of get back.
And then as the days went along, I had a big hat, I had my glasses on.
I had to be outside, but I was able to be fully protected.
And then eventually it got better.
When and how did you get that invite, Bruce?
[Laughs]Okay, so I am half blind.
This is what old people go through.
I can’t read my phone close to my face.
I have to have my glasses on.
I didn’t care.
I just let it go.
I was having fun, mingling, talking to all my friends.
And I’m like, “What the hell is this?”
I clicked on it and it brought me right to Jeff’s podcast.
I’m telling you, I bawled like a baby.
It brought all the emotions I had nine months of emotions.
Because I knew what happened to me and I didn’t tell anyone.
My kids, last night was the first time that they knew exactly what happened.
They saw the scar on my head.
They knew that I had some kind of trauma.
It’ll probably be traumatic for you, but I’m fine.”
The shirt was too tight.
I couldn’t get my arms down!
[Laughs]
I love that Probst did not give you a heads up.
He even spoke to you for that podcast andstilldidn’t tell you he was inviting you back.
He just let you find out like the rest of us.
I’m like, “Wait a minute.
No, I’ll talk to Jeff!”
But that was great.
It’s super exciting.
Let’s say you did not get that invitation to head back to the island.
it would’ve sat with me.
Because I started getting to the point now of being okay with this.
It’s okay, I’m fine with it.
It’s good."
And then I got this.
I’m like, “AHHHHHHHHHH!”
I don’t care.
I had no nothing, no ability to do any of that stuff.
To answer your question, I don’t give a damn.
[Laughs]I’ll play with anyone.
