He’s back for The Challenge: Cutthroat, so what tragically happened to Nelson Thomas’ leg?
He's admitted he's completely to blame
Nelson Thomas is back for The Challenge: Cutthroat 42, but one of his legs has been amputated, so here’s what tragically happened that resulted in the surgery.
On March 5th, 2023, Thomas was involved in a near fatal car accident in Texas after he was driving under the influence and crashed. His car caught on fire and he was pulled out by Minnesota Vikings wide receiver K.J. Osborn.
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He recalled the terrifying moment to People, sharing: “When I woke up and I hit that pillar, I thought I was in hell. All I saw was flames and fire around me. It’s such a vivid memory in my head, me getting pulled out of that burning car. I go to sleep and sometimes I’ll wake up screaming, thinking I’m in that car.”
He was immediately taken to hospital and didn’t know if he’d ever walk again, spending months in and out getting various surgeries done. He ended up with three plates and 22 screws in his foot after six surgeries.
However, by October the pain was still lingering and he was told that his bone wasn’t healing as it was supposed to. He recalled: “I closed my door, locked myself into a room and just was crying and screaming into my pillow and asking, ‘God, why me? What did I do to deserve this?’ You just start thinking about all the mistakes you’ve made in life and thinking that God is punishing you. All those demons that you put behind your head and you feel like you buried come alive.”
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Later that month he was charged with DWI as his BAC was .178, more than double the legal limit of .08 in Texas, the charges against him were dropped after he completed a pre-trial diversion.
One year after the accident and he decided to get his leg amputated after realising he was “ready to move forward” with this life.
The Challenge: Cutthroat 42 contestant Nelson Thomas shared with People how he feels about his decision to drive drunk, one that resulted in what ultimately happened to his leg down the line.
“This is bigger than me. I tell everyone I made the biggest mistake in my life. I’m not here to hide it. I’m not here to sweep it under the rug. I drank and drove and I made a bad choice that night, and I took accountability for that. I owned it.”
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He also had to bring different types of prosthetics for each of the challenges, explaining: “I have a swimming foot. I have a running foot. I have a normal foot. My prosthetic is so heavy, it was like an ankle weight. Imagine wearing an ankle weight and trying to run. A lot of people underestimated me, so I used that to my advantage.”
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