‘Deadliest Catch’: Johnathan Hillstrand’s Brother Takes Drastic Action During Dental Emergency

Deep into the season, the captains of Deadliest Catch and their crews remain driven to fulfill their respective quotas. Exhaustion has just about taken hold of Keith Colburn, who anxiously awaits news whether his brother Monte can return to the Wizard or not. Monte was getting checked out by the doctor after experiencing chest pains, high blood pressure, and other concerns there could be cardiac concerns. 

On the subject of brothers, Johnathan Hillstrand’s sibling Neal has been going through his own issues. His future on the Time Bandit was in question as he suffers from some serious complications from dental implants. Rick Shelford had his share of challenges with a crew member injury throwing another wrench into the plans.

Read on to see what happened during the September 11 episode of the Discovery Channel series. 

Johnathan Hillstrand 

Neal Hillstrand (Discovery Channel)

Johnathan was at Dutch Harbor where his brother Neal needed a dentist pronto. Bolts were falling out with Neal in unbearable pain with worry he could potentially swallow them at some point. The more time that passes, the more money the Time Bandit could lose being on land. A dentist couldn’t come in due to the weather halting travel. With no other option, Johnathan enlists deckhand Steve or “Dr.” Steve to help. His logic was that he was qualified because he punched a guy once in a fight and knocked out his tooth. He used cheese as a glue to pick up the bolts. Despite the unorthodox nature of the methods, Steven managed to get the bolt pieces back in for Neal. No copay required. The hope was it would hold up just enough for them to go fishing.  Neal does talk to dental professionals to see about an appointment right away. Johnathan wanted to get through 30 pots in eight hours.  Then I was off to Dutch to get to the clinic so Neal can get his teeth fixed. “We made it by the skin of Neal’s teeth,” Johnathan said, always the comedian. Neal got his teeth taken care of with the Time Bandit needing 50,000 more pounds out in the sea. 

Keith Colburn

Keith Colburn (Discovery Channel)

Keith received a call from Monte that he would go in on that Wednesday for scans and to see a cardiologist. He had to find out if he could come back to the vessel or not and work. Keith hoped his brother would be okay and received good news. He was mentally and physically running on empty without any relief. Mother Nature hadn’t been cooperating, making it an uphill battle to secure the solid crab numbers needed. 

It’s all up to Keith to keep the boat stable and help the crew work through the dangerous conditions. The numbers weren’t delivered. A massive wave poured over them. Later on, Monte told Keith he passed his cardiac stress test. He was given the green light to come back and would be back in a couple of days. Keith just had to hold out a little longer. Just as things were looking up, a leak was discovered from the crane. Keith couldn’t fish without a crane, forcing him to go back to town. The timing wasn’t the worst with Keith able to be relieved of his captain duties from the returning Monte. With the leak repaired, the Wizard could get back in the sea. Only this time it’s Monte at the helm with Keith off to get his head and body right. 

Rick Shelford 

Rick Shelford (Discovery Channel)

It had been a rollercoaster season for the Aleutian Lady, but Rick was driven to get the 80,000 pounds of bairdi left to catch. He set out away from the ice edge. The difficult life of crew members was touched with a scene of Todd Meadows explaining his routine of talking to his kids for a few minutes in the morning. The greenhorn admittedly missed his family. Rick saw tremendous potential in him stepping up and coming along in the industry. These scenes are especially sad knowing he’d lose his life in a fishing accident. 

Related

'Deadliest Catch': Jake Anderson Medical Emergency as Serious Infection Spreads Among Crew

Rick’s boat had a big setback thanks to a hydro leak spraying out of the boat’s ram, a hydraulic cylinder that controls the davit. It wouldn’t be a quick fix as these pieces are instrumental in terms of hauling pots. Rick tried to power through getting pots in the water. However, the reality was if the leak can’t get fixed, they’d need to head back to Dutch Harbor. Matters got worse when the handle tied to the picking hook broke. Todd hit his head while handling a pot. Upon an initial assessment, Rick thought he suffered a concussion and needed to go to the clinic to get checked out. Back on land, Todd had to be cleared by neurology and was not recommended to go back out to work. Rick wasn’t going to encourage someone to go against doctor’s orders, so he needed to get home and look at so he’ll be ready for the next offload. 

Deadliest Catch, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel