*UPDATE* Michael Schumacher Injured in Skiing Accident in France

[Sharon]

Michael Schumacher needs "a miracle" to survive, doctors reportedly tell his family

Doctors treating Michael Schumacher and other medical experts have told his family that "only a miracle" can save him, sources have claimed.

The seven-time Formula One world champion suffered serious brain injuries after hitting a rock during a skiing accident in the French Alpine ski resort of Meribel in late December.
He is being treated in hospital in Grenoble where he has been in an artificially induced coma for a total of 69 days.

Sources close to his family say the 45-year-old driver's wife Corinna and his brother, Ralf Schumacher, have been consulting brain specialists throughout Europe and have been told that his chances of recovery are minimal.

The family is said to be concerned that the French doctors treating Schumacher have little hope that he will recover and now assume that he will remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.

Experts point out that most artificial comas last for an average of three weeks. Schumacher's management team has insisted that doctors are gradually reducing drug levels to bring the driver out of his artificial coma and that he is currently in a "wake up" phase.

In a statement released on Friday, Schumacher's management team insisted there had been no change. "Michael is still in a wake up phase, the situation has not altered," said the driver's management team spokeswoman Sabine Kehm

At the management team's request, the Grenoble hospital treating Schumacher has kept news about his condition to a minimum. However sources close to his family say that the driver's prognosis is bleak. "The family has been told that only a miracle can bring him back now," a senior German journalist reporting on the Schumacher case said. " He is in a bad way but until the family issues a formal statement, we cannot publish anything," he added.

Another source added: "Doctors have given it to them straight. Miracles sometimes happen but there is little hope that he will come out of this."

A fortnight ago, Germany's Focus magazine reported that complications had obliged doctors to halt Schumacher's wake up process and that the driver had been put back into a coma. However Schumacher's management team denied the report.

Coma experts have stressed that the past week should have been crucial for Schumacher's wake up process as doctors would have been hoping for a sign that he was gradually becoming aware of his surroundings.

However last Sunday, the Schumacher family is reported to have spent Corinna Schumacher's 45th birthday gathered around the comatose driver's hospital bed praying in vain for him to acknowledge their presence.

Doctors say that the greatest risk facing the driver while he remains in a coma and unable to swallow properly, is the possibility that he will contract pneumonia as a result of his lungs being filled with fluid.

Should Schumacher manage to emerge from his coma, there appears to be little likelihood that he would be able to live a normal, active life.

Gary Hartstein, a former Formula One doctor told the German media last week: "The majority of patients who come out of a coma alive after this amount of time suffer severe disabilities."

SOURCE

[Azimuth]

At this point, I think it might be best if he just did pass away. I really hate to say that, and of course it's my opinion having been there somewhat. But it was hard for me, and I was not injured nearly as bad as he is. There were plenty of times I wished I had died, not anymore, but at first, just knowing that I would never be the same, not physically, or mentally.

I'm not saying that his family should give up and unplug him or whatever, but if he slipped away, it might just be a blessing for him.

[Clubhouse]

I'm starting to wonder if the doctors are pressing the family for that awful decision...There has been no news of him recovering at any stage. You can be sure his management and family have consulted other brain surgeons who have probably told them that's they have nothing extra to offer to the path this French team of surgeons have already done and doing.

[DannyDrama]

Wonder if Paddy Power are doing a 'money back if he wakes' like they are with pistorius?

[Clubhouse]

Schumacher condition shows 'encouraging signs'


Injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has been showing "small, encouraging signs" in his fight for recovery, his family says.

"We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up," the relatives said in a statement.

Doctors in France have been working to bring the seven-time champion out of a medically induced coma.

The 45-year-old German suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.

He has been kept in a coma to help reduce the swelling in his brain
'Hard fight'

On Wednesday, Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, released a statement on behalf of his family because of "an increasing interest in [his] condition in light of the start of the Formula 1 season".


The family praised the efforts of the French doctors at Grenoble hospital, but also warned that "it was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael."

"We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient," the statement added.

Investigators probing the accident said Schumacher had been going at the speed of "a very good skier" at the time of his crash in the resort of Meribel.

He had been skiing off-piste when he fell and hit a rock, investigators said.

Experts reconstructed events leading up to the crash after examining Schumacher's skiing equipment and viewing footage filmed on a camera attached to his helmet.

Schumacher retired from racing in 2012 after a 19-year career.

He won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.
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Family statement in full:

"We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient.

Michael has suffered severe injuries. It is very hard to comprehend for all of us that Michael, who had overcome a lot of precarious situations in the past, has been hurt so terribly in such a banal situation.

It was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael. We are taking this fight on together with the team of doctors, whom we fully trust. The length of the process is not the important part for us.

It is heart-warming to see how much sympathy his family is shown and I can say that the family is extremely grateful for it. However, it should not be forgotten that Michael's family is dealing with an extremely intimate and fragile situation. And I would like to remind all of us that Michael has always actively kept his family out of the public eye and consequently protected their private lives.

We try to channel all the energies we have toward Michael and we firmly believe that this will help him. And we believe that he will also win this fight."


BBC World News

[invertigo]

His family is holding out hope, but I don't think he's coming out of this one...not with his mind intact.

[Clubhouse]

Schumacher has 'lost 25 per cent' of body weight
F1 champion has shrunk down to just eight stone after three months in a coma, according to reports.


Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher is reported to have lost 25 percent of his body weight since doctors placed him in an artificially induced coma to help him recover from brain injuries sustained in a skiing accident last December.

Schumacher’s weight had dropped from twelve stone to just under eight and a half stone in the 83 days since he was placed in a coma, according to reports in German media.

“Weight loss in coma patients is normal,” Professor Dr Kurt Diehm, a coma expert at Germany’s Karlsbad teaching hospital told Bild. “One must assume that his muscles have degraded considerably because of his immobility,” he added.

The 45-year-old suffered a serious head injury after striking a rock during a skiing accident in the French resort of Meribel in late December. He is being treated at a hospital in Grenoble where his family including his wife Corinna, is maintaining a bedside vigil.

Officially, the injured driver is now in a “wake-up” phase as doctors gradually reduce his drug intake in an attempt to bring him out of his coma. Yet signs of a recovery have been minimal. “His family is incredibly strong, they won’t let themselves be discouraged,” the driver’s manager Sabine Kehm earlier this week.



She added that Schumacher was is still in a “wake-up phase” and stressed that he had not yet woken up. “We are still waiting for this to happen but we have learned to accept that it can take a long time,” she added.

Doctors are reported to have told Schumacher’s family that the driver’s chances of recovery are minimal. Last month, Germany’s Focus magazine reported that complications had obliged doctors to halt Schumacher’s wake-up process and that the driver had been put back into a coma.

Schumacher’s management team denied the report.


The Daily Telegraph

[invertigo]

Tabloids are still proving that when it comes to disclosure of a celebrities health, there's just no getting a straight answer out of anybody.

[DannyDrama]

Originally Posted by invertigo

Tabloids are still proving that when it comes to disclosure of a celebrities health, there's just no getting a straight answer out of anybody.

Not sure what the fuck it has to do with us anyway tbh. Let the poor fucker and his family have their final moments in peace ffs.

[Spiffyfable]

Didn't know him..