Damn start! Survivor Season 44 Gets Off To A Dreadful Start With Bruce Perreault Eliminated On Day 1

CBS premiered the 44th season of its hit reality series Survivor on Wednesday, which got off to a pretty bloody start, with one elimination already due to a nasty injury.

Bruce Perreault, a 46-year-old insurance agent from Warwick, Rhode Island, lasted less than 20 minutes on the show after sustaining a bleeding head injury.

The injury to Perreault, who was part of the Tika tribe, occurred during the first physical challenge.

Perreault and the other contestants had to run across the beach and then drop to the sand and crawl under first a wooden beam and then a longer wooden structure with mud underneath.

As Perreault passed the first beam rather quickly, as he dropped to get under the larger structure, he banged his bald head against the beam, blood flowing from the wound immediately.

As other contestants dragged themselves through the mud, Perreault wiped the blood from his head and let the contestant behind him through.

After taking a few moments, Perreault made it through the mud and out of the other, while trying to continue the challenge.

He was asked several times by host Jeff Probst if he was okay to continue, saying, “Bruce, let me know if you need to stop.”

Although Bruce tried to continue, he eventually fell to the beach and was unconscious for a few moments.

Host Jeff Probst hurried over and told everyone to stop while he called the medical team to tend to Perreault.

He told the medical team that he felt “a little dizzy.”

EMTs laid Bruce on his back and administered oxygen while they tended to his head wound and he eventually rejoined his Tika tribe.

However, later that night, the other members of his tribe noticed that he was not well, with one stating in confession, “All of a sudden, Bruce’s eyes closed and he went very quiet.” That was the moment I said, “It’s not right.”

The doctors checked Bruce one more time and he told them, “My head is killing me,” when the doctors found out that his blood pressure was elevated and put him on another IV.

After Probst was called and informed of Bruce’s worsening condition, he said, “Obviously we’ll take him out of the game.” Just preparing it right now.

The presenter broke the news to Bruce and said, ‘Bruce, you understand we need to review this. Your safety is everything. I know it’s hard to hear, but there’s no doubt that this is the only move you can make.

Perreault cried when she found out he was going home due to the injury, tearfully saying, “I wanted this so badly.”

Before Bruce left the island, his Tika teammates promised, ‘We’ll bring him home to you.’

While Bruce was the first to go home on the first day, two others required medical attention on the second day of the show featured in the two-hour premiere.

Matthew Grinstead-Mayle, part of the Ratu tribe, required medical attention after falling through a pile of rocks, dislocating his shoulder and sustaining severe lacerations to his feet.

Grinstead-Mayle put his own shoulder back in place while doctors placed his arm in a sling and treated his other injuries, though he continued on the show.

Probst also offered an update on Bruce, revealing that he was “happy to report [Bruce is] in good condition, without danger, without damage.

Another member of Ratu’s team, Brandon Cottom, was treated by doctors during the immunity challenge for heat exhaustion and dehydration, and although he was sidelined for that challenge, he got a break when he found an immunity idol that saved him from the elimination.