The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

Darn, I just lost a minute reading this and responding to it.

 

LOL +1

The irony is that Schumacher isn't going anywhere or changing very much. All there is is time.

 

Not a surprise; but not looking too good...

Expert alarmed at Schumacher weight loss
Mar.21 (GMM) An expert has admitted he is alarmed by reports Michael Schumacher has lost a quarter of his bodyweight whilst laying comatose in France.

Although the great German's family, manager Sabine Kehm and close friend Jean Todt insist they have not given up on the hope of full recovery, almost 12 weeks have now passed since the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver's skiing fall.

We reported early last week that the 45-year-old, who weighed about 75kg when he crashed on the Meribel slopes, has apparently lost twenty kilograms in hospital.

Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport and the major German daily Bild-Zeitung are now also reporting that Schumacher now weighs just 55 kilos, which means he has lost more than a quarter of his former bodyweight.

"While a weight loss in coma patients is normal, 20 kilos is a lot for people with normal body weights," said Prof Dr Curt Diehm, of the Karlsbad teaching hospital in Germany.

"One must assume that his muscles have degraded greatly due to the immobility," he surmised.

 

Hmm. The rate of atrophy in this case seems a bit anomalous. 20kg loss? That's about 40 + pounds for those Americans in the room. He must appear very gaunt as he didn't weigh very much to begin with, being very slender and medium in build. I weigh about 75 kilos, too, at 5'10"--very medium sized. Were I to lose 40 pounds I would look like a skeleton.

 

I haven't weighed in much here, as I didn't have much to offer, and didn't want to speculate. By accident, I stumbled on an article about Ramon Ramos, a man I knew personally when we were classmates in college. I hadn't thought of him in awhile, but with the NCAA tournament going on, it prompted me to Google him.

If you don't know about Ramon Ramos, the article covers most of it, but the abridged version - he was our school's star player, and ended up signing with the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA team). While driving home one night - much faster than the speed limit - he lost control of his car and was thrown, suffering significant injuries.

He spent nearly 7 months in and out of a comatose state. He suffered serious brain damage, and can't live unsupervised. It's very obvious he's not the same, but it does seem he has some recollection of what was.

Ramon was a big, tough, athletic man. Probably helped him in some way. He was much younger than Schumacher is, but then 45 isn't "old". I'm posting this just as an example that being comatose for a long period does not necessarily mean he's brain dead. Different situations, of course, but maybe provides some hope:

The Ramon Ramos incident ? Blazers Forum

 

Priceless choice of words - a little bit of humour in this tragic case was much appreciated.

Can't believe that even the Telegraph has bothered to publish this rumour......

ps sorry about your friend.

 

45 isn't old. With brain injuries age seems to make a tremendous difference. Ive had patients in their teens make incredible recoveries after long periods of coma(one month). Never seen that in people as they get old. There are exceptions to everything, but the realistic out come for poor Michael is a persistent vegetative state.

 

Do we know if Michael has any brain activity or is he brain dead?

The man survived so many years as an F1 driver.....what a tragedy to have this happen to him!

 

They (the docs or his manager) are not saying - they've not released any details about brain scan or activity results, or even whether or not he is still on the respirator. It's pretty much a blackout for the past 7 weeks except for the occasional "we're hopeful for his recovery".

 

If he's actually lost 20 kilos then that's quite disturbing. It's bizarre in many ways. This whole thing is strange.

 

It's not strange - my friend who was in a coma and went through over a year of similar recovery from a motorcycle accident lost about 1/3rd his body weight and was drastically skinny by the time he was able to be moved out of the hospital and into rehab. He is a fireman and was in shape without many excess pounds to lose when the accident occurred.

Part of the problem for him was due to miscommunication between the three ICU doctors that were treating his multiple injuries. For more than a week they failed to come to a consensus on order a feeding tube for him. Either way though, it is not uncommon when you lie motionless in bed for many months and are unable to consume solid foods.

>8^)
ER

 

'An expert'?

AFAIK, this 'expert' is not an attending physician. Neither Sabine, Corinna or his doctors have said a damn word for weeks. Which doesn't seem like a good sign, but some unknown 'expert' somehow knows "he's lost 20kg". WTF!?

"Expert" - definition;

X - an unknown quantity - spurt - a drip under pressure.

Godspeed Michael
Ian

 

Sure, I can see that.

I should have clarified what I was saying. It seems strange that an F1 champion, a top athlete in the world, goes skiing leisurely and is then reduced to a vegetative state in a sudden moment--just like that. And it renders him powerless. It doesn't seem "right" but has happened nonetheless. That's more what I meant. That and the long "black out" period of no talking or updating anything about his condition. It is as if MS has sailed the flat earth and went to the edge and disappeared--somewhat as if he no longer exists.

 

Life is fragile for everything and everyone, even our hero's.

>8^)
ER

 

The report came from the Gazetta dello Sport. Just as the last update about breathing without a machine did.

Either they're making this stuff up or they have somebody on the inside.

 

So sad that no positive news is filtering out... It just shows how precious "health" we take for granted is, even money cannot buy this. Look after yourselves everyone.

 

well said

 

The fact that you keep blasting anyone who posts news is not going to change things. Your sarcasm and your scorn will not change the situation.

Some of us want to hear the news. If it is good, then great. If it is not good, then we accept it.

You may view the world with rose colored glasses, and have contempt for those of us who don't. But your criticisms have grown old.

 

All of us are anxious for news but rumors and speculation are worse than nothing.

 

I agree 100%. I think twice before posting just for that exact reason.

 

75 kg=165lb in athletic trim, which Michael surely still was when the accident occurred.
55 kg=121lb in hospital-induced coma.

Neither bizarre nor strange, being on life support with no body motion or use of muscles. But disturbing? oh yes, exceedingly.

 

I didn't mean it in a Dr. Spock, logical, nothing is shocking sense. I meant it as if you were to see it. Imagine the sight of it. It would be very strange--to me at least--to see MS in a pre-skeletal state having always seen him in heroic photos and interviews as a fit, handsome, and powerful public image. At 120 lbs. he must appear corpse-like.

 

Those of you who criticized the family for no information-- all you have to do is look at the Malaysian jet and understand where they are coming from. The media will speculate on every single thing and camp out in front of the hospital every day looking for a picture of Corine and some statement or tidbit of information.

"Day 51 of the Schumacher coma! Experts weigh in on Corine's outfit. What does it mean? Is it a sign?"

Michael's recovery will be long. It may be filled with pain, sorrow, and maybe even tragedy. This is not something the public needs to know. It's a family matter. They don't need to hear wild speculation in the press.

They need to help Michael as much as they can without worry or distraction.

We are fans. We care about Michael. Some though only care about their wallets.

 

+1

The point I was trying to make is simply that this report is, again, nothing more than speculation from someone not involved in the case. It's not 'news', it's 'rumor' at best.

Damn, we don't even know if he's still on a ventilator or not.

Unknown 'experts' from random places claiming 'he's lost 20kgs' isn't news. It's BS.

I too am sure he's lost a bunch of weight, one of those things to be expected in such a situation. But I will continue to blast the speculators and won't believe anything until Sabine, Corinna or his docs say it.

Some here seem to have written him off and want to pull the plug as if he's already dead. I continue to hope and wish for the best.

Godspeed Michael,
Ian

 

Sometimes just waiting is the toughest thing.