Colby Donaldson is one of the most recognizable players in Survivor's 25-year history. From his first appearance back in Survivor: The Australian Outback to his latest, and most likely final Survivor run on Survivor 50, Donaldson’s name will now be forever linked with the franchise after four appearances.
Donaldson demonstrated his physical prowess back on the Outback after winning five individual immunity necklaces, a record that has yet to be broken to this day. In later seasons, his social and strategic gameplay took some turns and tumbles, but it seemed he had learned from his mistakes once he hit the Fijian beaches for Survivor 50.
Unfortunately for Donaldson, the gimmicks that have overrun the Survivor’s New Era cost him his ability to vote from early on, and later, an underedited injury almost took him out of the game. (More details on this later) However, Donaldson was ultimately voted out of the game and just narrowly missed being a jury member on Survivor’s ongoing milestone of a season.
In his exit press interview with Mike Bloom for Parade, Donaldson was asked about the extent of his injury. Donaldson responds that his injury was under-edited because it didn't contribute much to the season’s overall story, and that it was actually two-fold.
He first injured his foot during the Zac Brown challenge, which was a hyperextension caused by the physical effort of pushing the boat. Afterwards, Donaldson learned this exertion caused a torn ligament. At this point, Donaldson clarifies that he wouldn’t have been a physical threat down the line had he stayed in the game, but it wouldn’t have caused a med-evac either.
However, things for him turned for the worse when, after that same challenge, Donaldson stepped on something that must have punctured the same foot that caused him to have an infection. This infection later became a high-concern issue, especially as the medical team informed him he would need antibiotics (which he couldn’t get while still in the game).
By day 11, the infection had caused a pus pocket, which was a clear indication for medical evacuation. However, Donaldson put his foot down (pun not intended), and he asked for time for the upcoming Tribal Council. Donaldson knew he was a goner either way, but he at least intended to get voted out instead of being pulled from the game.
To further clarify the gravity of his injury and infection, Donaldson revealed, “And it ended up being one of the worst infections they’ve had since Dr. Joe got brought on to the game. It was bad... I would not have made it through the game with that. There was no way I could have finished the game out.”
It truly does sound like choosing between a bad outcome and an even worse one. Donaldson’s Survivor days were up either way, and at least, he was able to outlast his own injury for a few more hours and close out the Survivor chapter of his life in his own terms.
Lastly, Bloom asked Donaldson what it felt like for him when Survivor host, executive producer, and a close friend of the latter, Jeff Probst, told him, “One last time, Donaldson,” before getting his torch snuffed.
Donaldson replied, “He [Probst] hadn’t called me by my last name in a decade and a half or more. That was his little tip of the hat to me. And I appreciate our friendship.”
Watch Survivor 50 episodes on Wednesday nights on CBS!