Does Deadliest Catch star Nick McGlashan have cancer? That’s the question fans have been asking this season after he’s appeared on the show confused, sweaty, and bedraggled. But Tuesday night’s (May 2, 2017) episode revealed exactly why Nick has been so sick this season, and it’s not cancer. It’s drugs.
What’s worse, his drug problem appears to have gotten him fired from his job as the Summer Bay’s deck boss.
-Tuesday- #dealiestcatch #deckboss #down pic.twitter.com/MhyLSSdqSH
— Nick McGlashan (@NickMcglashan) April 25, 2017
Nick has looked pretty bad these last few episodes, and his work performance has suffered. Thanks to the way Discovery Channel edited the show, it appeared that Nick might have cancer – something he suggested was a possibility more than once. In fact, at one point he revealed that he had sought treatment for his symptoms before, but he chickened out.
“I spent a while in the hospital, back in April… They told me that my white blood cell count is supposed to be a five to a seven, mine was in the 60’s. And so I just left the hospital. Like ‘Alright, I’m out.’ Pull my IV’s out and go.”
Clearly, the young man was scared and would rather hope the illness went away on its own rather than find out what it is, for fear that it might be cancer.
However, as it was revealed on Tuesday’s episode, his symptoms weren’t caused by cancer; they were caused by drug abuse.
As Yahoo News reports , Captain Wild Bill, fearing for his friend’s health, convinced Nick to go to a clinic, again, to see what was causing his symptoms. And another round of tests revealed that Nick does not, in fact, have cancer.
However, back on the ship, Wild Bill found what looks like heroin in Nick’s things. That was the final straw.
“I’ve given Nick the benefit of the doubt, what, 30 times? But this time was f***ing different.”
The rest of the Summer Bay crew packed up Nick’s things, left them on the shore, and headed out to sea without him.
@SalVulcano captain Wild Bill from Deadliest Catch is a Steeler fan too pic.twitter.com/TMKwX1vZ0t
— Cathy Marshall (@chattycathy317) January 23, 2017
At this point it bears noting that Nick McGlashan is a real person who, even as you read these words, is living his life, doing whatever it is he does this time of day. Due to the passage of time between when his Deadliest Catch scenes were filmed and when they go to air, a lot happens in real life. In other words, what’s going on with Nick right now does not necessarily match up with what happened to him most recently on Deadliest Catch .
And, in fact, it appears that, between whenever those scenes were filmed, and the time of this writing, Nick has gotten back on the straight and narrow.
Writing a guest column in Chosen , entitled “ The Deadliest Disease ,” McGlashan himself opens up about the toll addiction has taken on him.
“My life went from Bering Sea bad**s to full blown junkie very rapidly. Hidden from me was that passion I had for life. Taken from me was my ability to live. I was at war with my addiction and it was winning.”
He concludes by saying that, while he’s still working on his journey of recovery, he’s put the worst of his habits behind him.
So does that mean Nick is still unemployed? That’s difficult to say for certain, and clearly, The Discovery Channel would like to make his employment a plot point for the remainder of the season. And on Nick’s Twitter feed, he’s not saying much about whether or not he still has a job.
However, one photo, posted on April 23, seems to give some indication that he’s back on Wild Bill’s good side.
My daughter giving @captwildbill a break at the #wheel . #deadliestcatch #spawns pic.twitter.com/qTN0pwzK0j
— Nick McGlashan (@NickMcglashan) April 24, 2017
Clearly, Bill let Nick and his daughter on the boat long enough to shoot a picture, although whether or not that means that the two have made right and Nick is back to work is anyone’s guess.
Do you believe Wild Bill should let Nick come back to work once he gets clean?
[Featured Image by Ingram+Publishing /Thinkstock]