Nelson Thomas is facing a serious setback on his ankle after severely injuring it in a car accident earlier this year.
“I received the most disheartening news about my ankle,” the Challenge alum captioned the emotional video he shared via Instagram on Friday, September 29.
In the clip, Thomas explained he had an appointment with his doctor, and his X-rays revealed that his ankle was rebroken and not healing properly.
“The bone has been rebroken, it is out of place. It’s not healing it all,” Thomas tearfully said. “I’ve been having pain these last two weeks, but I thought it was from me maybe overworking it in PT and in the gym. Come to find out, where they have the screws and plates, the bone broke. It did not reheal.”
Thomas was involved in a serious car accident back in March. The reality star was pulled out of the flaming vehicle by Minnesota Vikings player K.J. Osborn and three other strangers. After getting surgery earlier this year, Thomas expressed his frustrations that recovery was not going as planned and recalled his doctor telling him he now has two options on how to move forward.
“The stage that I’m in right now is called a salvage stage, which [means] either they can salvage my ankle, or they can amputate it,” he said. “At this point, it’s been seven months since my surgery. When I got out of surgery my doctor said it would take up to a year to heal. These last seven months have been a f–king waste.”
In order to save Thomas’ ankle, the MTV personality would have to undergo an ankle fusion surgery, which fuses the ankle bone into one piece and is usually done to treat arthritis per the Cleveland Clinic.
“This is not going to break me, but goddamn, I’m so over hearing bad news,” Thomas said in the video. “I just wanted some good news today.”
A few days after sharing his heartfelt video, Thomas posted a slideshow alongside pictures of his X-rays as he seeks a second opinion.
“I’ve chosen to lift myself up and wear a smile. While I’ve dwelled on the things that have gone awry, I remind myself that I’m here, I’m breathing, I’m alive. That’s reason enough for me to wear a smile,” he penned on Sunday, October 1. “Here are the X-rays. I’m sharing this to seek input, advice, or guidance from others. I certainly intend to consult with another doctor or two before making any decisions.”
