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Inside Survivor Sick Bay with Russell Swan of Survivor Samoa
by Troy Rogers
 Throughout
nineteen seasons of Survivor, now currently in
Samoa, the injury bug rarely surfaced to bite
Survivor competitors and send them packing from
the many exotic Survivor locations. However, in
the past few Survivor seasons, injury has almost
become an expected aspect of the Survivor gameplay.
Already on Survivor: Samoa fans have seen Survivor
tribe members say goodbye to 62 year old Mike
Borassi who fell victim to his body and decreasing
blood pressure.
The latest Survivor in Samoa to fall victim to injury was hard working Galu tribe leader, Russell Swan, who collapsed during a reward challenge in one of the most shocking injuries ever in the history of Survivor. Flat on his back after passing out during the challenge and Survivor medics rushed to the Samoa scene, the Survivor condition of Russell worsened when his blood pressure dropped and Russell passed out for a second time and was almost unresponsive to the questions of Survivor: Samoa host, Jeff Probst. At that point to all Survivor: Samoa competitors, it was clear Russell wouldn't be returning to Survivor: Samoa gameplay.
The next morning after Galu tribe leader Russell Swan was taken out of the game for medical reasons, we caught up with the hard working ex-Galu chief to find out how he's doing, how he felt watching himself on Survivor: Samoa, whether he made the right decision to choose comfort after the heavy Samoa rains, and how Russell reconciled the fact that he had to leave Survivor: Samoa early in the Survivor competition.
THE DEADBOLT: When did you feel yourself starting to fade?
 RUSSELL
SWAN: This is going to sound strange, dude,
and I know it sounds strange, but I never felt
like I faded at all. To me it felt like, yes,
I'm tired. What I remember, being winded, I
took a knee, I pulled the puzzle up to my face,
hit myself in the chin, and maybe knocked myself
out. I just needed a moment to catch my breath,
maybe get a drink of water and then, "All right,
game on! Let's continue." It wasn't until I
saw it last night that it was definitely not
the way I remembered it.
THE DEADBOLT: So how did you feel when you watched it last night?
RUSSELL: It was shocking. My wife freaked out. I mean, she was crying. It was wild, because I was trying to prepare her for different things. But I really didn't know it was that bad at all, so it was really tough to watch. But it was just tough to watch. Especially since my wife was so upset, because in her mind's eye, it looked like I died. And if I did, it looked pretty doggone close.
THE DEADBOLT: Did you feel guilty at all for not choosing the tarp? Was that why you were working so hard?
RUSSELL: No, I felt no guilt at all. I was working hard because I was elected chief. So that hard work was from day one, because I figured I have no other choice but to work as hard as I can to make this tribe as strong as I can to keep winning challenges, because that's the only thing that keeps me from the chopping block. The tarp versus the comfort, that was a game decision. You know, if it had been life, I would've chosen the tarp. It's not life, it's a game. I thought choosing the comfort was going to get me further in the game, strategically, at that point, when I made the decision.
THE DEADBOLT: How do you think it would've made a difference if you chose the tarp?
 RUSSELL:
I don't know. I don't think it would've made
a difference at all. I still would've been on
my back. If that's what you're saying about
working hard?
THE DEADBOLT: Yes.
RUSSELL: No. I was working hard because
I had a target on my back. I don't think any
one decision was the culmination of me being
on my back. I think any one decision could've
got me voted out. It was just one of those things
here I thought that was the path of least resistance
at the time I made that decision.
THE DEADBOLT: We saw it with both tribes, but how much did the rain affect you?
RUSSELL: Personally, it really didn't affect me that much other than just being cold. You know, it sucked. It would've been better to be dry, but we weren't. It would've been nice not to have sheets of skin peeling off of my hands and feet. But that's what we had to deal with, so it was tough. There were times I had to dig deep and say, "Okay, Russ. Look, you can try to keep this fire going as much as you want, but right now you're freezing. Get around some other human bodies. Get warm and then try to come back to this fire."
THE DEADBOLT: What was behind the decision to send Shambo to Foa Foa twice?
 RUSSELL:
Man, you know, the first time, the only thing
I could think of was how I figured that when
Yas came back there was something about a clue.
I figured that there might be a hidden immunity
idol, I wasn't sure. But I figured I'd give
her a shot because she was so different. But
I thought, "She seems cool. Maybe if I get this
chief thing off of me and she makes the merge,
I can align with her. I don't know. But she
needs some help." The second time, again, "She's
a little hanging fruit. Her stay at tribe is
kind of coming together, I think. She seems
to be a little bit on the outs. I have an excuse,"
because I was pissed off that she lost our equipment
and our chicken. So if you want a part, you
got to pay.
THE DEADBOLT: When you passed out, did you talk to Jeff about that at all?
 RUSSELL:
Well, I haven't talked to him since. But we
were going back and forth when I'm laying there,
and I'm like, "Jeff, do not let these people
pull me out. I'm just a little tired." I mean,
look, I had applied eight times to get on the
show and the last thing I wanted to do was be
carried off on my back. You know, to be carried
out at all was not what I wanted. And to be
carried out on my back, number two, was just
horrible. So I'm like, "Dude, tell them not
to take me out." And he's like, "It's not even
a discussion." But of course I'm looking at
it from the perspective that I've only been
down there for ten minutes and I'm just thirsty.
I haven't seen the eyes rolling back in the
head and me hanging on the puzzle and all of
that kind of stuff. So, in hindsight, they made
the absolute right decision. But at the time,
I was pissed off at him and anybody else who
made the decision to take me out, because I
thought it was bogus and I thought they were
losers.
THE DEADBOLT: So was it hard to reconcile with yourself that it was over?
RUSSELL: Oh, yeah. I mean, it took me awhile because I couldn't understand. I mean, what is this, a precaution? I'm not Mike Borassi. I'm not this 62 year old guy, you know? Yes, I passed out, big deal! People pass out all of the time. Okay well you almost died. Alright well almost only counts in horseshoes and I'm not dead. C'mon get the blood pressure cuff off, put the blindfolds back on, get the doctors out of the way and let's go!
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