Michael Schumacher suffers serious head injury

by Fernando Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 12:48

Michael Schumacher has been taken to hospital after suffering a serious head injury while skiing.
The seven time Formula 1 world champion was on holiday at a luxury resort in Meribel, France, when the accident happened this morning.
The 44-year-old retired for a second time in October 2012, two years after having returned to competition

by Bull Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 13:39

Hope he is OK!
Thoughts with him and his family!

by Guest Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 20:30

Conflicting reports. I hear serious head injury but then others say he`s conscious undergoing tests & is not too serious an injury. Hope he recovers & its not serious.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 20:40

Neil Hudson ‏@neilhudson
RMC Sport, who are there (they spoke to Panis earlier), are saying Schumacher has suffered a cerebral haemorrhage
http://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/info/557967/hemorragie-cerebrale-schumacher/

by Guest Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 20:47

What's that bleeding / swelling of the brain? Not great news then but recoverable

by Dave. Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 21:38

Doesn't look good at all. Just have to wait and see....

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 21:55

Sky News Newsdesk ‏@SkyNewsBreak
Update: Michael Schumacher's management says he has a head trauma and is in a coma, and required immediate neurological treatment

by Guest Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 22:20

Starting to worry for him now, hate when the media start rolling out the highlights of people`s careers n make it look like a tribute to his life. Hope things improve overnight but fearing the worst. Can't believe it.

by Duty281 Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 22:30

Read about this story this morning and it didn't seem too serious - he was apparently conscious and his injuries weren't severe.

Now I'm reading that he's in a coma with brain trauma?

Oh no. Praying for you, Mr. Schumacher - hoping against hope he pulls through.

by bogbrush Sun 29 Dec 2013 - 23:34

BBC says "critical".

With head trauma it's all about relieving pressure promptly, which sounds like it's been done. Just hope it's been in time.

by monty junior Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 4:01

Please survive Michael

by bogbrush Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 10:47

monty junior wrote:Please survive Michael

Indeed, but they talked about 'neurological damage'. Let's hope it's too early to say there's serious lasting impairment.

Edit: now it's 'fighting for his life'. Sounds grim, but I guess if you could pick anyone to win that fight it'd be him. He'll drive the thing into the barriers if that's what it takes! Hope so anyway.

by dyrewolfe Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 14:10

I never liked the guy, but wish him a full and speedy recovery all the same.

Far too young to die, so come on Schumi - pull another one out of the bag.

by bogbrush Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 15:11

I have to say I'm fearing the worst now; the doctors seem resistant to issuing any positivity at all, refusing to suggest any sign of stability.

by sikhlion Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 15:58

I hope that he is okay. From the sounds of it he got treatment pretty soon after the injury and probably has the best of the best looking after him so hoping his chances are better than the news is reporting.

by CaledonianCraig Mon 30 Dec 2013 - 18:49

It really does not look good. Specialists (not dealing with the case I may add) are saying the longer he is in a coma the greater the chances of brain damage. Also seems that there are several lesions as well. Not good at all. I was never a fan of his but I really do hope he pulls through. I shudder to think what his family and 14-year-old son who was skiing with him are going through. Best wishes and fingers crossed.

by bogbrush Tue 31 Dec 2013 - 10:18

I like that they've used the word 'improved', but not that a 2nd operation was needed. Yesterday they were saying that would indicate greater danger.

by monty junior Tue 31 Dec 2013 - 19:04

Yea I liked the improved bit but the more you read in to it there's not really a huge improvement it seems. It would almost be worse seeing Michael recover in terms of life but be mentally damaged and just vegitating, when he was always one of the fittest and smartest drivers in the history of the sport.

by Guest Tue 31 Dec 2013 - 19:32

monty junior wrote:It would almost be worse seeing Michael recover in terms of life but be mentally damaged and just vegitating

That the issue now, I think. I think they have more control now, however, there is still issues & hemorrhaging inside and around the brain. I think he will survive, hopefully, although the longer he's in the coma, you'd imagine he's going to have some kind of brain damage & life impeding issues in the long run which won't be nice to see at all.

by bogbrush Tue 31 Dec 2013 - 21:31

Don't they induce the coma, along with keeping him really cold to maintain control?

I agree though, hard to imagine him being the old Michael again, but to be honest, what do we all know? Not much, I hope.

by CaledonianCraig Wed 1 Jan 2014 - 15:08

You are correct BB. He is in an induced-coma which means there is a better chance if/when he is brought out of it he will not be too badly brain-damaged (if at all).

by dyrewolfe Fri 3 Jan 2014 - 12:53

Happy 45th birthday Michael (if you can call it that). At least he's survived long enough to reach it.

Schumacher fans hold birthday vigil for injured driver

His fans and Ferrari supporters' clubs are converging on the hospital where he's being treated to mark the occasion.

Lets hope he lives to see his 46th and more, seeing as he won't remember much about this one...

by Guest Mon 6 Jan 2014 - 11:28

Anymore news updates on Schumi, gone pretty quiet recently.

Just heard Angela Merkel has just fractured a bone in her pelvis while Skiing.

Simply put, Germans can't ski.....

by CaledonianCraig Mon 6 Jan 2014 - 14:04

John wrote:Anymore news updates on Schumi, gone pretty quiet recently.

Just heard Angela Merkel has just fractured a bone in her pelvis while Skiing.

Simply put, Germans can't ski.....

As I understand it there has been no change and will be no updates from the hospital until there are changes.

by Guest Sun 12 Jan 2014 - 10:35

Still no updates, surely there must of been a change or improvement in a week.

Doesn't look good for Michael unfortunately.

by CaledonianCraig Sun 12 Jan 2014 - 13:30

Remember he is in an induced coma ie kept in that state by use of drugs by doctors. When they are happy his head injuries are much less threatening they will bring him out of the coma. That is how I understand it in any case.

by Guest Wed 15 Jan 2014 - 18:44

Yeah, that is the case, however, reports suggesting his situation or his condition is `grave` & worse than first feared now. Bild reporting some news along those lines too & the fact there has been no statement from his family or management, suggests things aren't looking good for Michael.

by CaledonianCraig Wed 15 Jan 2014 - 19:25

Reports sell newspapers I'd rather wait for the facts. Admittedly, the longer you hear nothing the more you tend to worry.

by CaledonianCraig Wed 15 Jan 2014 - 19:34

John the Daily Mail now reporting on Bild stories and basically they are no more than speculation. Bild are going on the opinion of a brain surgeon who has not even been working on the Schumacher case. It seems to me the Germans newspapers are not getting anything to report from the hospital so are trying to create their own news.

by Guest Wed 15 Jan 2014 - 21:26

Richard Hammond was in a medically induced coma for a few days. So this seems more serious. Once the brain stops swelling and the pressure reduces to normal then that's the time to consider bringing the patient out of the coma ... as far as I know (but I am not medically trained so don't take my word for it).

According to the telegraph Schumacher had part of his skull removed Monday 12 Jan as part of on-going procedures. The problem appears to be remaining lesions or and infection with the result that the brain isn't healing / recovering as quickly as they would hope. telegraph article

by dyrewolfe Thu 16 Jan 2014 - 17:25

Wow - doesn't look too good right now.

Lets hope there's an official announcement soon with some positive news.

by FootballLight Fri 17 Jan 2014 - 17:06

Heard that on the news a couple of weeks back now. Gosh that was serious! Thankfully, he hasn't not come through it. Does anyone know exactly what has happened to him over the last few weeks anyway?

by Guest Fri 17 Jan 2014 - 19:50

It's not getting better - that's why he is still in an induced coma and his head is being cooled. There seems to be some exploratory work to assess the extent of the damage but it doesn't look promising at the moment. Basically it seems there is still some sort of leakage (blood or plasma fluid) into the brain that is causing an above normal pressure (swelling). It's under control in the induced coma but they can't bring him around in the present condition.

However, the more he is left in this state the less likely they will be able to bring him out at all. My feeling is they should perhaps risk it and try to bring him out of this induced coma. If you don't use it you lose it so they need to get his higher brain working.

You hear of people dying from a single punch in the street - what happens is they are knocked to the floor and it is the impact of their head with the floor that kills them - falling through a distance of 5 - 6 feet. Schumacher had a major impact. Fortunately he had a crash helmet on but witnesses say the impact fractured the helmet.

by McLaren Thu 23 Jan 2014 - 5:24

Sadly looks like game over for Schumacher, in terms of being the schumacher pre accident. From former f1 doc;

http://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/what-may-be-going-on-now-and-where-this-might-be-going-long-speculative-and-detailed/

by Guest Wed 29 Jan 2014 - 1:16

McLaren wrote:Sadly looks like game over for Schumacher, in terms of being the schumacher pre accident. From former f1 doc;

http://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/what-may-be-going-on-now-and-where-this-might-be-going-long-speculative-and-detailed/

This is very informative. He has two updates
1) If Schumacher had have been wearing an F1 helmet rather that a ski-helmet he would likely be conscious by now. He estimated that Massa's accident with the chunk of metal hitting him would have had the greater impact.
2) He is saying that Schumacher wasn't sent to the right best place at the beginning: he was transferred from the hospital he was initially sent to, to one better able to deal with his injury.

by dyrewolfe Wed 29 Jan 2014 - 14:07

This is the BBC's rather more concise take on it, which also quotes Professor Hartstein (F1's chief medical officer from 2005 - 2012).

Michael Schumacher: One Month on Unanswered Questions Remain

In a nutshell, there are no new updates on his conditions. He is still being kept in a medically-induced coma, both to prevent further damage to his brain from the swelling and to reduce the risk of infection.

Perhaps the most depressing thing is that, after so long, it appears the chances of Michael making a full recovery are slim.

Both Hartstein and Shieff believe it will be difficult for Schumacher to return to the same level of health he had before his accident.

"It is extremely unlikely, and I'd honestly say virtually impossible, that the Michael we knew prior to this fall will ever be back," Hartstein said.

Shieff agreed that outcome was "extremely unlikely".

"It is generally accepted that the longer a patient is in a reduced state of consciousness, the less likely they are to make a good recovery," he said.

"It is still possible to regain consciousness, but this is far from certain.

"At best, there will be handicaps in respect of communication, memory, mobility and independence.

"At worst, the patient may remain in 'low arousal state' with little awareness of surroundings, some response to comfort/discomfort, cycles of being alert, occasionally appearing to recognise or make attempt to communicate."

"I think that it will have to be considered a triumph of human physical resiliency, and of modern neurointensive care, if Michael is able to walk, feed himself, dress himself, and if he retains significant elements of his previous personality."

Effects of brain injury

With every injury being unique, a variety of symptoms ranging from mild to severe can be experienced. But the effects of brain injury fall into three main categories:

•Cognitive (memory, concentration, information processing, etc.)
•Emotional and behavioural (anxiety, explosive anger and irritability, lack of awareness or empathy, etc.)
•Physical (movement, balance and co-ordination, fatigue, epilepsy, etc.)

by Guest Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 11:55

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25963926

Update

by CaledonianCraig Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 12:04

I must admit reading expert opinions - it doesn't look he has much chance returning to full fitness. Brain damage seems a certainty. Very sad.

by Every Time Ref Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 14:04

Sky news are reporting that he has responded to instructions, hope this is true and not another fake story.

by Guest Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 14:11

'Simple instructions' were what Sky stated, could just mean, squeeze my hand or something like that. Still early days in this waking up phase. Be amazed if he hasn't suffered considerable brain damage.

by Every Time Ref Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 14:23

Absolutely, its one small step, but even that is a good sign and shows something is working.

by CaledonianCraig Thu 30 Jan 2014 - 23:03

Fingers crossed for him but I too would be very surprised if there was no permanent damage.

by Guest Fri 31 Jan 2014 - 0:19

John wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25963926

Update

"Doctors treating injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher are reducing his sedation to prepare to bring him out of a coma, his manager says."

This is progress! It was looking terribly bleak with the news before being "keeping him stabilised". Now a process of getting him to respond to stimuli, getting him to regain conscious etc can begin. If the report of him responding to instructions is true - even to squeeze a hand when asked - that is a huge huge step ... it would mean his hearing is intact, his ability to decipher meaning in sound is intact, his neuro-motor part of the brain is intact etc.

by Guest Fri 31 Jan 2014 - 0:46

I haven't seen the sky report but since he is still in a coma he can't be responding consciously to instruction. Elsewhere there are reports that they have tested certain unspecified reflexes and that he has shown some appropriate reflex responses to stimuli. Examples of reflexes can be blowing air into his eyes to see if he blinks, iris response to light, muscle reflexes ... Other things will be to see if he can breath unaided etc.

by Guest Sat 8 Feb 2014 - 5:51

Because of the vacuum created by the lack of news from the hospital treating one of the worlds most famous sporting icons in history, it seems that it is easy to fabricate rumours and then sell more newspapers - the hospital has been forced to deny the rumours: http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/07/report-hospital-denies-michael-schumacher-has-died/

The story does say that the latest information available is that Schumacher is not able to breath unaided and that food is being injected straight into the stomach - but I suppose that is due to the fact that Schumacher is still in the coma.

by CaledonianCraig Sat 8 Feb 2014 - 7:35

Lets just wait and see but I fear the worst and the best to hope for now is that he survives and is not too severly brain-damaged,

by Guest Wed 12 Feb 2014 - 13:09

The latest unofficial news is that Michael is responding to reflex stimuli but nothing else (that involves a brain processing response). He doesn't seem to have a cough reflex and it seems he now has pneumonia (lung infection) and is on a strong course of antibiotics. This is of course very disappointing and the waiting continues. I had been hoping to hear news that he would be able to breath unaided etc but at the moment it seems he is being kept alive by artificial respiration.

Just to respond to the comment below: the manager has been quoted as calling it "speculation" - which is basically a no comment response.

by Fernando Wed 12 Feb 2014 - 16:31

He's management has denied this.

by Guest Sat 14 Jun 2014 - 11:20

Michael Schumacher is out of intensive care & has been moved to a rehab unit.

by CaledonianCraig Sat 14 Jun 2014 - 13:35

John wrote:Michael Schumacher is out of intensive care & has been moved to a rehab unit.

But seemingly still no marked improvement. I am forced to agree with ex-F1 doctor Gary Hartstein who says in his medical opinion he cannot ever feel there will be any good news to report. Ex-F1 boss of Michael's Flavio Briatore is in agreement.

Sorry to appear to be callous but we have to be realistic here and he has been in a coma for six months - he'd set a new record of he were to recover from that fully. According to German TV company RTL they report he is in a semi-awake vegetative state.

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