Kyle Fraser's run on Survivor's landmark 50th season was cut short -- but not by a vote.
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Survivor 50 premiered with Kyle, the winner of Survivor 48, being medically evacuated from the game.
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Kyle injured his ankle during the first Individual Immunity Challenge of the season on Day 3 when he attempted to climb a wall by himself, after his tribemates had used each other as ladders.
Kyle fell to the ground because he couldn't put any pressure on his ankle, but he didn't appear to be in terrible pain. The show's medic, "Dr. Joe," therefore allowed Kyle to continue competing on one leg.
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On Day 4, Kyle assured his tribemates that he was feeling "significantly better." In fact, he boasted in a confessional about how he was probably still going to be a physical threat.
But much to his surprise, Survivor host Jeff Probst and Dr. Joe traveled to Kyle's Vatu camp to check on him.
"It's often difficult to tell immediately after an injury. It needs a little bit of time to settle down, and it gives you a bit more information," Dr. Joe explained.
"Now that the immediate pain is settled, Kyle is able to localize where the pain is. And [he] said it's not really in the ankle, the joint, but it's behind the leg where the Achilles tendon is... It's the biggest tendon in the body."
Jeff added, "You can't walk without an Achilles tendon."
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The location of Kyle's pain was apparently a red flag for the Survivor medic.
Dr. Joe therefore looked at Kyle's Achilles tendon with an ultrasound machine, and he noticed that there wasn't much reflex in Kyle's toes when his calf was squeezed.
"That test tells me that it's likely there is severe damage to your Achilles tendon and it may have completely ruptured. You may have completely snapped your Achilles tendon," Dr. Joe told Kyle.
"Often, it will need an operation, but sometimes, without an operation, it will need a minimum of three months physical therapy, either way."
Kyle asked Dr. Joe what would be the harm if he chose to stay on Survivor 50 and resume competing.
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"I can speak to that. We do have a duty of care out here, and it's not always a question of if it's life threatening. Risk of real damage is real. We are barely into this game," Jeff explained to Kyle.
Kyle asked Dr. Joe if he'd be "done for" if he didn't treat his injury immediately.
"Your Achilles tendon needs to be together to heal, and you need to be wearing a special boot for that," Dr. Joe shared.
"And without that, you do risk long-term damage, which could be permanent."
Jeff reminded Kyle that they were in the middle of a jungle and if something worse were to happen, he could end up with a limp for the rest of his life.
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"It's not worth it," Jeff noted.
"Yeah, I understand," Kyle agreed.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. It breaks my heart for you. It really does. The last 36 hours, everyone has been worried about you and hoping that it wouldn't come to this," Jeff said.
Jeff and Kyle therefore shared with the rest of Kyle's tribe that he was going to be medically evacuated from the game.
Kyle told his Vatu tribe that he wouldn't trade the moments he had with them for anything.
Kyle started to cry once he saw his tribemates crying about the bad news.
"I did not think I could have a better experience than what I had last time, but meeting you guys and hanging out with you and making new friends and seeing you guys has really meant a lot to me," Kyle announced.
"You guys mean the world to me, and the fact you were even willing to let me hop around like an idiot -- I care a lot about you guys, and thank you."
Angelina Keeley called Kyle "the heart" of the game, and Genevieve Mushaluk called his departure "a gut punch."
Genevieve was upset about losing a friend and an ally, and Quintavius "Q" Burdette lamented about how he essentially had to start over, strategically, now that his buddy was gone.
"I just hope that one of you guys take this frickin' thing. I really do. I love you guys," Kyle said on his way out of the game.
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Q concluded in a confessional, "Kyle told us to win, and I want to honor that."