Getting injured is the worst nightmare of any Australian Survivor contestant, and unfortunately, we saw it happen last night as Nina Twine fractured her ankle and was pulled from the game.
Chatting to POPSUGAR Australia on Monday morning following her Sunday night elimination, we wanted to know: what actually happens when you’re removed from the game for medical reasons? Do you get a decent meal? Do you get to call your mum (who, in Nina’s case, happens to be two-time winner and Queen of Survivor, Sandra Diaz-Twine)?
As it turns out, the answer to basically all of our questions was no. In fact, aside from medical attention, they make sure to keep the Survivors pretty insulated from the outside world.
So what does actually happen?
“It’s pretty simple,” Nina revealed, saying that because she was still in the game, there “wasn’t much said” about what was going on.
“It’s like ‘this is what we’re doing, we’ll talk when we get there’,” she said. “You get examined, you see the doctors, they speak with you a little bit.”
She said that within the 24 hour grace period of being removed from the game, conversations are very much kept to the bare essentials, so no chatting with the doctor about what’s happening in the world or what’s on TV.
“It’s like, no talking to anybody, you’re still in game mode, so nothing changes besides being transported somewhere else and then you’re kind of just sitting there waiting by yourself,” she said. “I guess that’s the only thing that’s really different is the fact that you’re alone, besides maybe a doctor. There can’t really be a whole lot of communication because then it’s not fair if I come back and I’m like ‘hey guys, guess what I heard!’”
In fact, they’re pretty strict about making sure that the castaway won’t have any unfair advantages if they’re able to return to the game.
“I had to sit backwards in certain areas, if there were posters and things like that,” Nina explained.
Nina explained that at the time, she was “only thinking of [her] ankle”, so she wasn’t really looking for any special advantages or information, but she understands why they keep everything pretty locked down.
“If it happened to someone else, I’d get it, because if they came back to the game with all this stuff I’d be like ‘wait that’s not fair! Why are they getting a juice box and talking to the doctor about what’s going on in the news?’” she explained, adding: “that’s not fair and it’s not right for the other people in the game.”
So there you have it, that’s what happens offscreen when our Survivors injure themselves.
Australian Survivor airs at 7.30pm, Sundays and Mondays, only on 10 and 10 Play on Demand.
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