Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : June 16, 2014 3:56 PM IST
Former Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher has left the hospital and is no longer in a coma according to a statement by his spokeswoman. Schumi as he was lovingly called sustained serious head injuries in a ski accident in late 2013. In a statement spokeswoman Sabina Kehm said:'Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore. His family would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident, who did an excellent job in those first months. The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes to Michael. We are sure it helped him. For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye.' The statement did not say where he was being transferred to.
How far the F1 legend has recovered is not known and it was believed that he would spend the rest of his days in a permanent vegetative state. The retired seven-time German champion has been in a coma for nearly six months since hitting his head on a rock in the French Alps on December 29.
An expert from a neuro-rehabilitation clinic at Germany said that although it is impossible to say how quickly a patient with a brain injury is going to wake up, but the longer the recovery phase, the more serious is the brain damage to the patient.
A F1 doctor had earlier expressed concerns that the longer Schumacher remained in a a coma, the more improbable recovery becomes. Another French neurological professor said that statistically, 30 percent of patients recover well from a severe brain injury, 50 percent is affected by mild impairment while 20 percent of them suffer from severe disabilities.
