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Brady Booker lost part of his thumb on Survivor 51, but he certainly didn’t leave it behind in Fiji.
The 27-year-old opened up about the gruesome injury during a recent appearance on the TMZ Podcast shared on Tuesday, October 6, revealing more about what happened after he accidentally chopped off roughly a quarter of his thumb while splitting wood.
The accident, which aired during the September 30 episode, sent Booker to the show’s medical team. Although his biggest concern was being pulled from the competition, he ended up being cleared to continue after his thumb was wrapped and he received antibiotics.
Looking back, Booker admitted the pain wasn’t even his main concern once he realized he could still move the injured finger. “Now it was like, OK, how do I stop this bleeding and how do I get the producer to look at me like he wants me to stay,” he recalled.
Luckily, he was cleared to continue. He admitted the relief was immense, describing the possibility of being removed as “dark and scary” and joking that he went through “the 5 stages of grief.”
He didn’t exactly take it easy afterward. Booker said his thumb constantly throbbed during the following challenge, but the pain wasn’t enough to stop him from competing. With a football and professional wrestling background (and seven previous surgeries under his belt), he instead challenged himself to see how much he could handle.
READ MORE: Jeff Probst Reveals How One Former ‘Survivor’ Contestant Guaranteed His Spot on Season 50
The wildest part of the story came after the accident. Booker revealed that the severed piece of his thumb was found still stuck to the hatchet. The Survivor art department then preserved it in a custom piece of jewelry, which Booker proudly showed off.
As for becoming part of Survivor history in such an unexpected way, Booker can laugh about it now. “My memorable moment is because I was an idiot,” he joked.
“If you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough,” he says of his philosophy of the incident.
Considering he went right back into competition missing a chunk of his thumb, Booker certainly put that theory to the test.
Related: Jeff Probst Reveals Whether He Regrets This Controversial ‘Survivor’ Change
