‘Survivor 44’: Bruce Perreault’s Memory Was Shortly Affected By His Concussion, ‘I Find Some Pieces That I Still Do Miss’
No one can say Survivor 44 had a boring start. More than one castaway left the game for different reasons. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Bruce Perreault over Zoom on March 2, 2023. This is what he had to say about watching that scary moment and his second chance.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Survivor 44 premiere, “I Can’t Wait to See Jeff.”]
Bruce Perreault said it was ‘tough’ to watch his injury play out on ‘Survivor 44’
Q: Of course, the big topic for you is your injury. It was terrifying to watch for me, so I’m interested to hear what was it like watching it back for you.
Bruce: It’s one of those things that I knew that it happened. I had an idea of what they were going to put out there, but I did not know. So I actually […] had a party and there were a bunch of people out with over 100 some-odd people like a lot. And then there were more of them, whatever. But I stood away because I needed that. I needed that for me. Like I needed to see that and be able to kind of quantitate it all. Put it all together. See something–no one wants to see themselves getting hurt.
You know, I think about, like, the professional athletes that play football. They snap a leg or an arm, you know, they see it again, and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, that just that happened.’ And they’re looking at the result of it. I look at the results of the scar on my head every day. But when I got to seeing that, I was like, That’s tough. That’s tough.
Q: Jeff Probst said that the medical team was going to continue to moderate you back at camp. What did that entail?
Bruce: They checked on me. They kept asking me questions. The bandage that I had on my head, which looked like a ravioli [laughs]. They redressed that. I had an I.V. in my arms. You know, they did all the proper things to make sure that, you know, I was comfortable that I wasn’t sliding too quickly in the wrong direction. So they they kept an eye on me the entire time.
Q: One of the things I wondered is that just looking at you, I was like, OK, they dressed the wound. I was like, why couldn’t they pour some water on my man’s face? He still has blood on his face.
Bruce: No, no, no, no, no, no [laughs]. I, I knew that it happened. And I knew there was blood on my face. And from, like, even when I was, I was bringing the block, and I put it on a table, and I turned around, and I looked at Sarah [Wade], and Sarah looked at me and said [gasps]. I knew.
Now, I also knew that it’s going to make for great TV [laughs]. So I’m happy they didn’t take it off. They didn’t put water on my face. Like, just let it be like, this is reality. It’s now I need to be able to go in and clean myself off and all that. This is what Survivor is all about. They allowed the real thing to happen. And that’s what I appreciate the most in regards to this. I’m happy they didn’t wash anything off my face.
Bruce talks about regaining his memory after the blow
Q: Did you remember everything that happened or did that memory kind of get foggy after the concussion?
Bruce: Once again, you know, from the concussion on for a couple of days, things started coming back, you know, and even and even watching the promos. You know you watch the promos, and it’s like, OK, so we already had jazzed up.
And then we see something like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s right.’ You know, because, you know, I didn’t recall every single thing. I find some pieces that I still do miss. But a lot of it started coming back as my head started getting better. And it took about three days for me to kind of get back to, you know, mobile without being dizzy from walking around.
Q: I think for some people have their own opinions on how the whole situation was handled. My whole thing is like [a] head injury is big, and it’s like you never know what’s actually going on in there after you knock it like that. So overall, what’s the grade you give on how everything was handled?
Bruce: I’ll give them a 10 out of 10. I give them 10 out of 10. The reason why is, if you remember from yesterday’s episode, I got to see a good portion of it. I didn’t see it all because I was at a party and my family is going to watch tonight. But I said it was perfect.
Q: Yes, I noticed that. I rewatched it because at first, I was like, Is he in a place to say anything? But we hear you clearly. You’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’
Bruce: Yeah, I’m I was good, and my head hurt, and it was seven out of 10 like it hurt. But I don’t–I didn’t think I’m a doctor. Behind me is a chart of, you know, the ocean and nothing to do with a medical degree. But I felt that I was OK, but I knew that I was concussed.
But I’ve never had a–I’m sorry. I had a concussion for years and years and years and years, which was from boxing. I used to box back in the day. But at that moment in time, I didn’t feel like the symptoms were that egregious.
And then all of a sudden, it’s like everything just slowly coming up. And then the head stops working, and motor skills like a little wonky, and then, OK. So and then you start freaking out, God. But like I said, a 10 out of 10 because they could have been like, ‘Bruce, there’s a couple of Advil. You’ll be fine. Do you want to continue?’
I didn’t want to be pulled from the game. Not at all. And when they started talking about potential brain bleeds and things like that, that’s when I was like, it’s time. Thank you very much. It’s. It’s time. And they took me.
Bruce on his second chance at ‘Survivor’
Q: I’m looking to the future on a happier note. It looks like you got an offer to come back. Is there anything you learned of what to do or what not to do just by watching the first episode of season 44? And this could be like what other people were doing, what you did.
Bruce: I’ll tell you this. First off, let me go back. What we talked about earlier, that’s not bad. That’s not sad news. It’s not bad news. It’s a part of my experience. So it’s all OK.
But for me to go back and say, what would I do different in regards to like from seeing this first episode? I would understand that the challenge is not won for the speed of the first part of the challenge because there were three parts of the challenge.
We could have came in last place, bringing the blocks back, and won overall because that’s what one of the tribes did. So, you know, be methodic. I would be more methodic when I go into it and just, you know, maybe wear a helmet. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll see what happens.
Q: My last question is, you might come back one day. So therefore, do you have a message for your future castaway that might play with you?
Bruce: The message to any future castaways is it’s going to be, let’s have some fun.
This interview has been condensed for this article.
Other Survivor 44 Exit Interviews:
‘Survivor 44’: Maddy Pomilla Knew Her Exit Would Be a ‘Crazy History-Making Thing’
