Today show weather presenter Taylor Haynes has opened up about the lasting health complications she has faced after a crab crushed her finger during a live broadcast. The 23-year-old was giving viewers a tour of the Sydney Fish Markets in Glebe when she approached a tank of live crustaceans, and the situation took a turn for the worse as a crab clamped its large pincer onto her finger.
Details of the Incident
Speaking on Stellar's Something To Talk About podcast, Haynes revealed that the injury was severe and she is currently undergoing rehabilitation to restore full sensation to her finger. 'I have a thing called a neuroma. Because my finger was severely crushed by the crab, it has crushed all the nerves. I've lost feeling and sensation. I'm doing rehab every week to get movement back into it, and feeling and memory,' she explained.
Haynes added that she is scheduled to see a hand surgeon next week to explore further treatment options, which may involve a wait of six to 12 months or an operation to reconstruct the nerves. Despite maintaining her composure during the live cross on April 3, she admitted to panicking internally and fearing the loss of her finger.
Emotional Aftermath
'I just screamed and said "Please, I don't want to lose a finger." It still shakes me talking about it,' Haynes recounted. She noted that the animal handler could not free her finger manually, so her cameraman had to retrieve large tongs to pry the crab's grip loose. 'We were getting everything to try to separate those claws. My cameraman went running and found these big tongs that were 30cm long that you [use to] pull crabs out of the tank. That finally separated the crab from my finger,' she said.
Reflections on the Incident
Haynes shared that she often receives messages from viewers who joke that she got off 'lightly' because the crab did not sever her finger. 'Some of them were fingerless and said, "I didn't even have half the size of crab as yours that took three of my fingers off." I'm extremely lucky,' she reflected.
During the segment last month, a worker handed Haynes a giant crab, and she bent down to kiss its head before the crab retaliated by grabbing her finger. She recoiled in pain, almost dropping the crab. 'Ahh! It's got my finger! He's got my finger... oh god!' she screamed, causing the hosts to react in shock. The segment ended awkwardly as she struggled to free her finger.
Co-host Alison Piotrowski later confirmed Haynes was recovering well. 'She's doing fine, thank goodness, and we will catch up with her later on in the program,' she said. Haynes later appeared with her hand in a cup of cold water, stating, 'I'm still in shock. It did take a good while (to remove my hand from the crab). I will be going to hospital after this.'
