Despite elements, mom glad she got to be on 'Survivor'

Rain, bats and nasty teammates got her down, but Kathy Sleckman is glad she got to do "Survivor."

"Survivor" fans this week watched Kathy Sleckman being pelted by rain for two days with no shelter, then spending the night in a cave filled with spiders, scorpions, rats and bats.

The experience marked the end for the 45-year-old Glen Ellyn mom: She begged off the CBS reality show after 19 days on Micronesia.

Back home, Sleckman said Friday it was humbling when Mother Nature drove her to her breaking point.

Watching from home doesn't give you the impact of how hard it is, she said.

"You don't realize how much you're at the mercy of the elements and the people you're with," she pointed out.

From the start, Sleckman was at odds with many other players. She expected her tribe to cooperate, and was taken aback by some of the macho posturing. The player known as Mikey B. set a pecking order as soon as they arrived; Joel refused to share the team's only machete.

And fellow suburbanite Jason Siska, from Fox River Grove, barred Sleckman from "his" cave when it rained.

"You realize they don't think like you do," she said.

The filming took place in the fall. Sleckman was gone for six weeks -- and that upset her 6-year-old daughter.

"She's better, but it really affected her," Sleckman said.

Despite the tough times, Sleckman now says she's grateful she had the opportunity to compete.

She and her husband had been fans from the first "Survivor," and she wanted to be on it so badly she tried out seven times.

"Not too many people get to live their dream," she says. "I get to say 'I did it.' I might have stunk at it, but I did it."

Sleckman is gearing up for golf season, when she'll work at Village Links in Glen Ellyn. Buy a drink from her, and she just might spill "Survivor" tales.