When Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Nathan Gallagher injured himself on the fifth charter of season 11, his crew was left scrambling to fill his bosun-sized shoes during Episode 9.
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While visiting a hospital and receiving scans and an injection, Nathan called Captain Sandy Yawn back aboard M/Y Akira One, and admitted he didn’t have “the greatest news.”
“Doctor says that I have a bruised disk. I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Nathan admitted on the call during Below Deck Med’s August 3 episode.
Sandy found herself in a bad situation, with the charter season itself now in jeopardy. Nathan’s news followed deckhand Luke Brumer’s decision to quit during the July 27 episode.
“The deck crew are crumbling. We can’t have two people down for the rest of the season,” Sandy pointed out to producers. “We still have charters on the books. What are we gonna do if Nathan has to leave the boat?”
Nathan was also worried for his future in yachting after his injury. “I’m actually concerned where that leaves me and my family for the future,” he confessed to producers, referencing his partner Gael Cameron and their son Kayden, who had joined him in Croatia for the charter season. “It’s not looking too good right now.”
How did Nathan Gallagher get injured during Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11?
Nathan’s injury happened as he and lead deckhand Joe Bradley were moving and inflating water toys during the August 3 episode.
“My back’s f—ked,” Nathan suddenly uttered, and dropped the inflatable he was holding.
To producers, he described the pain he was feeling. “I am in agony,” he admitted. “I’m f—king 27. I’m already losing my hair. I don’t need to lose my back too for f—k’s sakes.”
Nathan detailed how his ailment happened to Sandy as the two spoke in the bridge: “Honestly, I was just lifting stuff, and twisting stuff from the swim platform.”
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He then revealed that he had a history of back issues. “I don’t have a good back anyways. I hurt it in Sydney a few months back, as we were lifting a f—king generator out of the engine room,” he explained to Sandy.
“I was getting help in Sydney for a bulging disk, and [it] was weeks and weeks of going for rehab, and I feel like I just hurt myself again,” he shared with producers. “It’s absolutely f—ked.”
Captain Sandy Yawn explains why Nathan Gallagher’s injury was a “liability”
Sandy was troubled by Nathan’s repeated back injuries, and questioned his ability to lead the deck team of Akira One.
“If you want to continue working, you need to get fixed first,” she insisted. “Otherwise, you’re going to make it so bad where you can’t work anymore.”
Although Nathan resisted, she demanded he needed to be checked by a doctor. “You’ve never had an MRI or anything? You need to get one, Nathan,” she told him. “Think about your body. Like, you can barely move.”
RELATED: Joe Bradley Reveals Where He Stands With Nathan Gallagher After Below Deck Med Season 11
After sending Nathan to the hospital, Sandy named Joe as acting bosun for the foreseeable future.
“This charter, man. I didn’t want to go into this without four deckhands. But it’s a liability now to have Nathan on board if we don’t know how bad his back is,” Sandy admitted to producers.
ICYMI, this wasn’t the first injury for the deck team during Below Deck Med Season 11, as Cooper Dawson suffered an allergic peanut reaction earlier in the season.
