The Challenge’s Nelson Thomas is asking fans to keep him in their thoughts and prayers as he’s dealing with additional medical complications following last month’s serious car accident.
In April, he was in a severe wreck in Texas that involved his car catching on fire and required several individuals to pull him from the burning vehicle before waiting for medical and emergency personnel to arrive.
After being hospitalized, Nelson shared updates along the way as he had multiple surgeries to repair his injuries from the accident, including needing a muscle skin graft to repair his ankle.
He’d been out of the hospital since several weeks ago, mentioning that he was now ready to put in some work in the coming months to get better.
However, he may have suffered another setback based on his latest news regarding new complications.
The two-time finalist shared an update that he’d been in a lot of pain over the past several days but indicated that things had become worse on Friday.
Nelson shares an update that he’s back in the hospital
Taking to his Instagram Story on Friday, Nelson shared a photo of himself lying on a hospital bed with his shirt up and a nurse or doctor examining his chest or heart with a device.
Nelson’s surgically-repaired leg and ankle are wrapped up and elevated slightly on a pillow as he has the test or procedure performed.
“I will be in the hospital for couple days. I have infection in my lungs and fluid around my heart. I been pain for the last 3 days but today [upset emeoji]. Please say prayer for me,” he wrote on his slide.
In the corner of Nelson’s photo slide is an image of praying hands with “13-7” beside them. This could be a reference to the John 13:7 verse from the Bible.
“What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand,” a version of this passage says.
The Challenge star continues to receive GoFundMe donations
As mentioned, Nelson was hospitalized for considerable time immediately after sustaining injuries in his car crash last month. At one point, he indicated things were “not looking too good” with his situation.
After weeks of doubting his circumstances, he seemed to have recently gained a positive outlook and was looking ahead to his recovery.
Earlier this month, Monsters and Critics reported Nelson got a visit from some special guests at home recently, as his fellow Texas residents and Challenge castmates Kam Williams and Leroy Garrett visited with their son Kingston. It appears that the visit lifted his spirits more this month.
Soon after his accident, Nelson shared that he had a GoFundMe campaign that a friend set up to assist him with $200,000 in medical expenses he couldn’t pay.
On Friday evening and over the past week, additional donations arrived to help The Challenge star. As of this writing, over $56,000 of the $200,000 campaign goal has been raised.
Nelson appeared in back-to-back seasons of The Challenge with MTV’s Ride or Dies, followed by his arrival with MTV Legends on The Challenge: World Championship. A second season of The Challenge: USA is currently wrapping up its filming, with Nelson not involved due to his circumstances.
Due to his continuing medical situation, he’s considered one of the cast members very unlikely to appear in Season 39 of MTV’s competition series.
The Challenge: World Championship episodes are available on Paramount Plus. The Challenge: USA 2 premiere date is TBA for CBS.