Survivor host Jeff Probst has broken down that heart-stopping scene in which Jake Latimer was fighting to pull through a snake bite in Fiji.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'SURVIVOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER?! WHICH SHOWMANCES SPLIT UP? (PHOTOS)
A sea krait is a banded snake that is considered to have venom that is 10 times more potent than a rattlesnake's venom, and it appeared, for at least a brief moment, Survivor cast and crew feared Jake was going to lose his life.
Jeff revealed on his "On Fire" podcast that, with the exception of Caleb Reynolds' medical evacuation in Survivor: Kaoh Rong, the snake incident was "the most terrifying situation we've ever dealt with on Survivor," according to Parade.
After Jake said a snake "latched" onto him and appeared to bite the bottom of his foot, Jake was transported to base camp via boat.
"There was a very stressful moment," Jeff recalled.
"The medical team and the boat and camera team traveling with Jake on the boat all lost communication for a moment. I mean, this never happens. And so it's right at the moment where they were giving them an update on Jake."
The failed communication explains why multiple people on the medical staff at base camp were suddenly shown frantically asking if Jake was still breathing as the boat docked.
Jeff elaborated, "And so during that time of no communication, it was unclear to everybody back at base camp if Jake was conscious and breathing properly. It was a terrifying moment."
Jake was able to walk off the boat, but then he was put on a stretcher and given oxygen. As the medics were trying to calm and comfort Jake, he kept repeating how he had a baby on the way back home.
Dr. Barry, leading the medical team, looked at Jake's wound and determined that he fortunately had a "dry bite" -- which means no venom entered his body -- but the bite itself was painful and the castaway was probably feeling anxiety and a lot of adrenaline due to his contact with a very poisonous snake.
RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
"We've been in Fiji for 10 years. We have not heard of a single incident in the entire country. We couldn't find anybody to even talk to, so our medical team, while Jake was in there being tended to, they're calling specialists all over the world trying to get some insight, because this is so unlikely to happen," Jeff explained.
"This was such an unknown factor, in fact, that it puzzled even the doctors at a local hospital. Following the official diagnosis that Jake would not be able to return to the game, he was taken by boat to Lautoka Hospital."
The medical professionals at Lautoka Hospital apparently never saw a sea krait bite either.
"And so Jake had to be flown not only to an entirely different country, but a continent," the Survivor host revealed.
"He was transferred to a facility in Australia, where he had to be under careful observation for signs of envenomation. Once he was given the all-clear, he was finally sent home."
Dr. Barry said on the show that Jake was unable to re-enter the Survivor game because there were too many "uncontrolled variables" and he needed protection.
Jeff explained on his podcast how there were several reasons why it made sense to pull Jake from the game, even though he had a dry snake bite and seemed okay.
"One, we needed further observational time with him at a real hospital in Australia. Two, he'd gone through so much emotional upheaval that he was drained," Jeff shared.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jeff cited "fairness" as the third reason for Jake's medical evacuation.
"Because if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, he had a lot of IVs and fluids and all sorts of things being injected into him," Jeff said.
"And you could say, 'Well, that's too much of an advantage.' So we made the right decision."
RELATED LINK: 'THE AMAZING RACE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
Jake was devastated to miss out on the adventure of a lifetime and possibly winning $1 million for his family, and his remaining Kele tribemates were also crushed by his unexpected departure.
However, a silver lining was that Jake returned home in time to witness the birth of his child, which is a life event he had been preparing to miss by joining the Survivor 49 cast.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
