Has Michael Schumacher recovered from his coma?

Michael Schumacher, the ace Formula One racer who was in an induced coma after he suffered grave injuries in a skiing accident, is said to be waking up slowly. According to his 15-year-old son Mick,

By: Pavitra Sampath | | Published: October 13, 2014 12:05 pm

Michael Schumacher, the ace Formula One racer who was in an induced coma after he suffered grave injuries in a skiing accident, is said to be waking up slowly. According to his 15-year-old son Mick, a kart-racing driver, Michael Shumaker is waking up very, very slowly and is dong well, considering he has a long road to recovery. In a statement to Europe 1 radio station, commentator Jean-Louis Moncet said that he had met Schumacher’s son recently who told him that the Formula One driver was recovering well. Moncet said, ‘Although things are going at a slow pace, he has a lot of time, I would say he has his whole life in front of him to get back on track.’ ‘His injuries were less due to his fall and more due to the mounting of the Go-Pro camera he had on his helmet, that injured his brain.’ Added Monet. He also confirmed that Schumacher was still ‘fighting’ and was well-taken care of by his family and a team of 15 experts tending to him at his mansion. The seven-time champion is said to be making progress with relation to the severity of his injury, but is still immobile and unable to speak. He is being cared for at his mansion on the shores of lake Geneva by 15 experts and his father is slated to move into his home later this year to help with his care. Incidentally, Schumacher’s family is said to be spending close to 100,000 pounds for his care every month.
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The 44-year-old German F1 world champion suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and was in a ‘severe head coma’ when he was transferred to the University Hospital Center of Grenoble at the mid-day, Xinhua reported Monday citing media reports. Also Read - Nipah virus: 5 shocking facts about this deadly disease that has claimed lives in Kozhikode, Kerala

He was last seen skiing ‘off piste’ (on unmarked slopes) according to CNN. The tragedy occurred when Schumacher was skiing on a helmet in Meribel resort, he fell sharply and hit a rock with his head. He was immediately transported by helicopter to hospital in Moutiers, Savoie, before being moved to the hospital in Grenoble. The hospital said in a statement that the German driver ‘required an immediate neurosurgical operation’.

There is not much information available on the level of head injury that Schumacher has suffered. In most head injury cases, the level of damage is ascertained by what is called the ‘Glasgow coma scale’. This is used continuously to figure out if the patient’s condition is improving or declining over time. Since a head injury could mean injury to the skull, nerves and important vessels, signs of damage to any of these are looked for. It could manifest as the cerebrospinal fluid (fluid surrounding the brain) leaking from the nose or ears, bleeding from the ears, bruising around the eyes or ear etc.). A CT scan is usually advised immediately.
One of the first things that is usually done in case of severe bleeding in a head injury is ‘craniotomy’. In this case, either a hole is drilled into the skull or a part of the skull is removed to relieve pressure being exerted by the bleeding. Pressure is then monitored continuously by the neurosurgeon. The patient will also require intubation for breathing and for prevention aspiration in case of vomiting. The prognosis in the case of severe head injuries is not very good. However, since Michael Schumacher’s treatment started within a few minutes, we hope that he comes out of this freak accident to enthrall his fans.

Image source: Getty Images

Published : October 13, 2014 12:05 pm

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