‘Your Life Does Not End Because You Have A Diagnosis’: Shantel Smith Opens Up About Her Battle With Multiple Sclerosis Before ‘Survivor’

(CBS) – Survivor 41 is heading down the agelong and Shantel Smith is officially the 4th subordinate of this season’s jury.

CBS’ Matt Weiss spoke to Shantel astir her acquisition connected the island, her enslaved with Ricard and competing with aggregate sclerosis.

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MW- Hello Shan! It’s been a fewer days since your elimination episode. I ever consciousness atrocious talking to radical aft their crippled is chopped abbreviated but I’m other atrocious you’ve had to stew connected it implicit Thanksgiving.

SS- Thank you! I kept reasoning astir each that arsenic I’m eating stuffing, I’m similar I got interviews 1 Monday. Just truly stretched it each retired [laughs].

MW- Of people your clip connected the land didn’t spell arsenic agelong arsenic you’d hoped but erstwhile you deliberation backmost connected adjacent getting to the land successful the archetypal place, what was that infinitesimal similar for you?

SS- Oh, my gosh, I deliberation there’s thing similar it. First of all, I’m soaking bedewed due to the fact that I conscionable was successful the h2o and I’m like, oh, there’s nary laundry, I’m going to beryllium bedewed each time [laughs]. Then I conscionable Brad, Ed, Davey, Sarah, Ricard, each these radical I saw pregame but couldn’t speech to.

Everyone was truthful sweet, everyone’s truthful great, it was beautiful. I mean, the prima hitting the formation and Fiji is beautiful. There was thing similar it. It was hands down 1 of the champion experiences of my life.

MW- And past you get sorted into the Ua people and you each conscionable commencement getting picked disconnected 1 by one. What was it similar watching the people get taken retired successful numbers similar that?

SS- We started connected specified a precocious close due to the fact that we won the archetypal challenge. We were doing bully and each of a abrupt we commencement to get picked disconnected 1 by one. I’m speechmaking the beverage leaves and I’m similar I’ve got to enactment connected my A game.

I conscionable knew I had to enactment my small hiney disconnected conscionable to get done it. I knew I had to beryllium strategically beardown and socially astute but it’s truthful hard. This is the crippled though and someone’s got to spell and you conscionable don’t privation it to beryllium you.

MW- You ever person to look retired for yourself but astatine the precise slightest you deliberation you’ll person immoderate clip to physique with your archetypal tribe, you didn’t person that luxury though…

SS- My gosh, yeah. It’s truthful comic due to the fact that the different tribes had each this clip to truly physique relationships and enactment together, you deliberation they’d beryllium the beardown unit and truly tight. Oddly, Ricard and I were astir apt the tightest brace retired of everybody due to the fact that we had to beryllium to instrumentality around.

I mean, I went to tribal each azygous day. I was determination each azygous time and it was conscionable awful. I was moving my small process disconnected conscionable trying to get through.

MW- You mentioned Ricard and there’s nary bitterness successful your dependable truthful recognition to you for that [laughs]. You tried to person his backmost and helium threw you nether the bus. Walk maine done that blindside from your perspective.

SS- I mean, we are who we are, right? At the extremity of the time I wanted to support him. I was with that lad for 19 days. I was locked into this each Black alliance, which conscionable you know, plummeted. But I was each locked into this and I conscionable believed successful it and ne'er successful a cardinal years thought they would spell against it.

So my imagination was for Ricard and I to beryllium determination astatine the end, helium was my hubby connected that island. You cognize what I mean? He was the Will to my Grace, I emotion that boy, I emotion him. He made the champion determination of the play successful my sentiment due to the fact that had helium not taken maine retired I would person not taken my ft disconnected the pedal. I would person gone consecutive to the extremity and I would person won the game; I consciousness that mode successful my heart.

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Both helium and I, our resumes were stacked. He made the champion determination and I springiness kudos to him, determination is nary emotion mislaid there. There’s not an ounce of bitterness determination and erstwhile I went retired everyone’s similar well, she was trying to enactment a people connected people’s backmost but I was being honest. There was nary atrocious humor astatine all.

MW- Changing gears a small bit, you are idiosyncratic who has battled aggregate sclerosis and you decided to enactment yourself done Survivor and did an unthinkable job. Can you speech astir that acquisition of going connected the amusement with your situation?

SS- Yeah, I mean, I was terrified [laughs]. I was diagnosed successful 2018 and I mislaid imaginativeness successful my close eye, my legs were going a small numb. I got diagnosed aft tons and tons of tests with MS. I had a large neurologist who was ace assertive truthful I was enactment successful chemotherapy; I did 8 rounds. That was hard but I’m successful remission now, I’m works based and I devour well.

Pregame what cipher saw was that I was really truthful terrified to spell and play Survivor I astir didn’t adjacent get connected the plane. Before flying retired determination I told my household I’m not doing this, there’s nary way, I’m not going to enactment my assemblage astatine risk, I’m successful remission.

But I prayed astir it and I felt similar God released me. My congregation, my pastor released maine to spell pursuit my dreams.

Your beingness does not extremity due to the fact that you person a diagnosis. If anything, it conscionable begins. I truly conscionable didn’t privation to unrecorded my beingness successful fear. I went up determination and I was terrified. I was reasoning I’m going to beryllium medically evacuated, this is going to beryllium truthful embarrassing if I person a flare up.

But, I went retired determination and during pregame Jeff said to maine you tin outcry present but erstwhile you get retired determination you’re Wonder Woman, this is your show, you ain it. I took that and I conscionable got up determination and I was similar I’m going to play similar I’m a stone prima and I’m going to ain this.

I did conscionable that! I volition accidental I don’t cognize if it was being astir the h2o oregon immoderate benignant of electromagnetic field, the climate, the air, eating less, surviving minimalistic, but my assemblage healed successful a batch of ways retired determination being astir nature. and stuff. I truly bash judge successful wellness and wholeness and plant-based eating and each of that.

It was terrifying but you cognize I was a rockstar! I privation everybody with MS to cognize the diagnosis is not the extremity of your dreams. I judge that adjacent though modern subject hasn’t figured it each retired completely. I judge with mixing therapies determination is simply a mode to unrecorded good and to inactive beryllium blessed and to unrecorded a fantastic life.

For each those that are disabled, I’m conscionable retired determination for you and I anticipation careless of colour oregon sex oregon ethnicity, I anticipation you tin spot yourself successful maine playing the crippled and cognize you tin unrecorded a afloat life.

MW- God bless and congratulations connected the remission! So with each that being said, 1 past question earlier I fto you go, if you get called to spell backmost would you bash it again?

SS- Oh my gosh if Jeff calls maine ohio yes! I’d spell backmost but I’d beryllium terrified again [laughs].

MW- [Laughs] Thank you truthful overmuch for the clip contiguous Shan, it’s been a pleasance talking to you and each the champion moving forward!

SS- Thank you truthful much. Take care!

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Tune successful for a caller occurrence of Survivor 41 Wednesday nights astatine 8 PM ET/PT connected CBS oregon disposable to watercourse with Paramount+. Check your section listings for much information.