Nelson Thomas has returned home following the amputation of his foot. The star of MTV’s The Challenge took to TikTok on Thursday to provide an update on his condition after the significant surgery, expressing his relief at being discharged from the hospital.
“At least they let me keep my good foot, right?” the 35-year-old said with a laugh.
I’m home, thank God. It was a hard three days. The first two days I was in a lot of pain,” he said. “Walking into that hospital, I was very scared but I had my loved ones with me. I’m happy to be out the hospital, man. Being in that hospital really just… I just wasn’t me.”
Thomas confessed that he’s been “feeling good” since returning home and being in his own space. In a poignant moment, he showcases his mother by his side, aiding in his healing process.
“I have to elevate my leg for the next six weeks and I have to take a couple pills. I gotta make sure I’m moving it so it doesn’t get stiff,” the Are You the One? alum explained. “Trust me, it is weird. I still don’t know how I feel but right now, I know I’m home and I’m happy and that’s all that matters.
”I’m just gonna take it day by day and we’ll see how things go,” he said, telling his followers “Thank you for all the support.”
Last month, Thomas spoke about the necessity of amputating his foot following a severe car accident in March 2023. Rescued from his burning vehicle in Austin, Texas, by Minnesota Vikings player K.J. Osborn and three other kind strangers, the reality star underwent extensive treatment.
Thomas endured multiple hospital visits and underwent six surgeries, resulting in the insertion of three plates and 22 screws in his foot.
He embarked on a journey from California to Mexico to New York, exploring stem cell therapy, electrical stimulation, and conventional physical therapy.
Despite initial prognosis suggesting a six-month recovery period, Thomas defied expectations and began walking again within three months.
By October, the MTV veteran resumed his gym routine and swimming activities. However, persistent pain lingered.
Thomas received disheartening news from his doctor: his bone had not healed properly, leading to a nonunion condition. This revelation shattered him, as it undermined the months of dedicated rehabilitation efforts.
“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?’” he told.
“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.”
That same month, it was revealed that Thomas faced charges of driving while intoxicated in connection with the near-fatal March accident.
“When that article dropped in October, I broke again,” he recalled. “It was the worst time of my life. What sucked the most is that what I had to deal with is that, ‘Nelson, you caused this to yourself.
He blessed you with this opportunity, and you slammed the door in your own face.’ Do you know how many times I got to look at myself in the mirror and I blame myself for everything?”
“I’m at peace with it,” he said. “I’ve prayed about it. I’ve wrote in my journal, I’ve read books. I’ve done all my research that I can do. I’ve done everything I can to try to save my foot.
There’s a lot of people out there, even friends, they’re calling me: ‘Nelson, you have a chance to keep your foot and look normal and walk around.’ But then you have to ask yourself, ‘What kind of quality of life do I want to live?’ “
“Everybody always tells people, ‘the light at the end of the tunnel,’ but nobody tells you how long the tunnel is. They don’t tell you how dark it is or how hard it is,” Thomas said.
“But I want to bring people in and show you, don’t be ashamed because you’re shedding tears. Crying is good. It’s helped me a lot. I don’t have all the answers for you right now, but I’m not hiding anything from nobody. This is who I am.”
