The 7-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher has been taken to hospital after suffering what appears to be a head injury while skiing in the French resort of Meribel. Mixed reports have the head injury labeled as serious to not serious but French journalist Carole Bouchard from l’Equipe told Sky News:
“It seems whilst skiing off track on his own, Michael Schumacher hit his head on a rock and had to be rescued by emergency services and airlifted to the hospital. It may be that the head trauma is not as bad as first feared, but nothing is coming from the hospital directly.
“All we know for definite is that he has had an accident, he has head trauma and he is in hospital. I am being cautious as we do not know the full details yet as we have not heard from the hospital and it could still be a serious head trauma.”
Schumacher’s personal assistant, Sabine Kehm, told press:
“He fell around 11:00 am and hit a rock with his head,” he added.
“It seems that he has suffered a head trauma, but I would not say how serious it is. He was conscious but very agitated while being taken to hospital.”
The press have reported that Schumacher was with his 14-year-old son when the accident happened and he was wearing a helmet.
UPDATE:
According to German media SID, Schumacher is in a coma and in critical condition following the accident and emergency surgery via Jennie Gow:
“Mr. Schumacher was admitted to the University Hospital of Grenoble at 12:40 pm, following a skiing accident occurred in Méribel in the late morning.
He suffered a severe head injury with coma on arrival, which required neurosurgical intervention immediately.
He remains in a critical situation.”
All of us here at F1B pray for a quick and full recovery for Michael and strength for his family in this difficult time.
Update 12-30-2013:
Doctors assembled this morning to release a statement and update the world on Michael’s condition:
“On his arrival we examined him clinically and realised he was in a serious conditions, in a coma with in fact cranial pressure,” Professor Stephan Chabardes said.
“The brain scan showed a number of pieces of information: some inter-cranial haematoma, but also some cerebral contusions and edema.
“We operated urgently to try and eliminate the haematoma and after the operation, we saw that we were able to eliminate these haematoma. But also, sadly, the appearance of various bilateral lesions, so he was taken to intensive care to try to help him.”
Doctors say that they are working hour-by-hour to help Michael and that it is too early to talk of future prognosis:
“For the moment, we are not able to express ourselves with regard to Michael Schumacher’s future,” Professor Payen added.
“We’re working all together, day and night, at his bedside. But it’s far too early to be able to say anything as far as prognosis is concerned.
“We’re currently not talking about after-effects; we’re talking about treatment and we’re working hour by hour.”
Personal Note:
On a personal note, my father suffered two brain aneurysms as well as a friend of mine. The coma is to stabilize the patient and provide oxygen and stability to recovery so while it sounds serious, and it is, it is induced.
The injury caused bleeding on the brain and this is, as you would imagine, very serious. In the cases I have personally seen, it can have long-term impact on the patient. The surgery could have been to stop the bleeding and sometimes to relieve pressure on the brain due to swelling. It depends on where in the brain the bleeding occurred as to what, if any, impact it will have.
The next few hours will be critical for Michael. As a Schumacher fan from the beginning, this is very difficult news to take and I’ll be praying for him. I’ve experienced this first hand and I wasn’t much older than his son is (who was with him at the time of the accident) when it happened so I know how scary it can be for a son and family to sit at his side and feel helpless during this most difficult time. Spare a moment for thoughts and prayers for the Schumacher family. My daughter shares a birthday, January 3rd, with Michael so let’s hope for a gift of recovery.
