These 13 Medical Emergencies Rank Among The Most Terrifying Moments In Survivor History, With Some Contestants Facing Far More Than They Ever Bargained For. Hunger, exhaustion and brutal challenges are all part of Survivor. Yet across 26 years, the competition has witnessed medical crises so serious that even the toughest players were left helpless. Some incidents unfolded without warning, forcing production crews and medical teams to respond as the game suddenly became the least important thing on the island. Looking back, it’s remarkable how quickly a contestant’s dream of winning could turn into a frightening ordeal.

Michael Skupin passed out and fell into a fire in season 2

Skupin became the first person to be medically evacuated from Survivor during the show’s second season, which aired in 2001. He passed out and fell into a campfire, sustaining second- and third-degree burns on his hands.

He was removed from the game to be treated and ultimately had three skin-grafting operations, he later told CBN.

When he later competed on season 12, he also sustained minor injuries that caused him to bleed, per CBS News.

Bruce Kanegai suffered severe constipation in season 12

Ten seasons passed before a second medical evacuation occurred on Survivor. Bruce Kanegai experienced bad stomach pains from intestinal blockage and had to be taken to the hospital during season 12, per CBS News.

“I knew it was very, very serious,” he told the outlet in 2006. “More painful than when I got bit by the rattlesnake.”

Jonathan Penner got an infected, punctured knee in season 16

During a challenge in season 16 of Survivor, Jonathan Penner punctured his knee with a stick, per NPR.

Although Penner’s injury was monitored for a few says, he was eventually pulled from the game due to the risk of severe infection that could have possibly cost him his leg if the knee was left untreated. He was later treated in the hospital for three weeks, he told Reality TV World.

Mike Borassi was severely winded in season 19

In season 19, Mike Borassi participated in a challenge known as Schmergen Brawl. The now-retired activity, which was only played a few times and resulted in multiple injuries, essentially combined basketball with wrestling, per Entertainment Weekly.

Borassi became severely winded after taking several hits during the game. When he was examined following the challenge, he had dangerously low blood pressure and was removed for his safety.

“My blood pressure was 90 over 60 or 50 and I just wasn’t pumping blood to my extremities and head,” he later told Digital Spy. “I knew I’d come back though, and an hour after they took me away I was fine, eating ice cream and laughing and joking around. I was ready to go back into the game but they wouldn’t reverse the decision. They took a blood test to check for a heart attack and everything was negative — even the medics were saying, ‘You didn’t have a heart attack, you were just dehydrated.’ ”

Russell Swan slipped in and out of consciousness in season 19

Russell Swan collapsed in the middle of a challenge during season 19, and then started slipping in and out of consciousness in Probst’s “scariest” moment on the show at the time, per Entertainment Weekly.

“I had the spins, I can remember at one point my peripheral vision was kind of going in and out,” Swan told TV Guide in October 2009. “I knew that meant that there was some symptoms of having been in the game for the two weeks but I didn’t know that it was a danger sign necessarily because I had never felt those symptoms.”

Kourtney Moon hurt her wrist after falling into a net in season 24

Kourtney Moon is the only woman to ever be medevaced on Survivor. During a season 24 challenge, Moon jumped from a 25-foot tower into a net, but landed incorrectly on her hand. This resulted in a bad wrist injury and her evacuation.

“That was also my first broken bone, so I had no idea that the crack I heard was a real crack,” Moon told Entertainment Weekly in February 2021.

Caleb Reynolds faced severe heatstroke and exhaustion in season 32

After an exhausting challenge during season 32, three contestants collapsed — and one, Caleb Reynolds, was medevaced to be treated for severe heatstroke and exhaustion. He remained in the intensive care unit for five days being treated.

“My heart was beating about 108 beats per minute, and then it went up to 118,” Reynolds told PEOPLE in March 2016. “My body temperature hit 107 at the worst. It was really dangerous. I’m lucky to be alive.”

His full recovery took five months.

“If I walked outside in the sun, my skin felt like it was melting. I would get hot really easily. I’d sweat really easy,” he recalled. “If I was inside without air conditioning, I’d be sweating. It really did affect me. My eyes hurt in the sun. I had five months of that.”

Pat Cusack hurt his back on a boat in rough waters in season 37

In the season 37 premiere, Pat Cusack badly injured his back during a choppy boat ride in which the vessel hit a big wave. The incident prompted the medical team to remove him from the game, and he was later diagnosed with spinal compression deterioration.

“Even though in the show, it shows that I’m somewhat speaking, but I still to this day don’t have any recollection of any of that situation on the beach,” Cusack told Newsweek in September 2018.

Bruce Perreault slammed his head onto a beam in season 44

Bruce Perreault experienced a major injury during the season 44 premiere. In a challenge that involved army-crawling in the mud underneath a wooden structure, Perreault banged his head on one of the wooden beams.

While Perreault said he was fine at first, he fell briefly unconscious. He eventually was pulled from the game and taken away on a stretcher, but returned to compete in season 45.

Matthew Grinstead-Mayle fell off a dangerous rock in season 44

On day 2 of season 44, Matthew Grinstead-Mayle climbed a dangerous rock by the tribe’s beach. He fell and dislocated his shoulder.

“To be honest with you, the actual fall, I have no memory of it,” he told Entertainment Weekly in March 2023. “It’s completely blacked out of my mind.”

Although Grinstead-Mayle continued with the competition, his injuries got worse. During a subsequent challenge, he popped his shoulder out of its socket while digging in the sand and popped it back in himself, he told the outlet. He ultimately left the game and later got surgery.

Jake Latimer was bit by a venomous sea krait in season 49

Jake Latimer thought he was “going to die” when a venomous banded sea krait snake bit him during season 49. He was pulled from the show by the medical team to take care of it, and, luckily, the bite turned out to be a “dry bite” without venom.

“When I was lying on that stretcher, man, you saw me say, ‘I’m going to be a dad…’ “ Latimer told Entertainment Weekly in October 2025. “That has been the most scared I’ve ever been in my entire life … it’s a feeling that I’m never going to forget.”

Kyle Fraser ruptured his Achilles tendon in season 50

After Kyle Fraser won season 48, he returned for Survivor 50. However, he had to be medically evacuated after he injured his Achilles tendon during the first immunity challenge. He ultimately had to get surgery to treat the injury.

“In the middle of the night when I had that first sleep, I woke up and I was in pain. I was resting my foot on two rocks … I just felt the functionality of my foot, and it just was not there,” Fraser told PEOPLE in February, adding that he fought to stay on the show but production was right to send him home.

Brady Booker chopped off part of his thumb in season 51

In Survivor 51, Brady Booker sliced part of his thumb off while he was chopping wood. After a doctor checked him out, Booker was cleared to stay in the game.

“Sure, it’s a little numb, but I can touch all the fingers, I can touch far end, I can clap, I can grab,” Booker said during the episode. “Sure, brodie, pain exists, but I would rather feel pain than nothing at all.”

Booker also asked the doctor to show Probst the piece of his severed finger, and Probst confirmed he took a look. “Sure enough. That’s the tip of a human thumb. Another Survivor first,” he said.