The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

BBC News - Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant

Not MSC related, but science has made a paralyzed man walk after he got stabbed multiple times in 2010 using cells from his nose.

Science is so amazing these days, things like this should provide more hope for MSC.

 

I just read an official statement by the family made Nov 14 which was in essence relaying that Michael is still unable to speak or walk. This family has some close friends who are nothing short of some the best in the neurological business so I'm sure they are making the best decisions, but that still doesn't make these reports any easier to read. As of a few months ago we were told he could communicate in some way (I believe the said his eyes?) so that tells me there is some level of higher brain function, but who knows.

This sort of reminds me of when Roy from Seigfreid and Roy in Las Vegas was essentially mauled by one of his tigers. He was of course gone from the show circuit and barely survived, and then I saw him at Kona grill in Las Vegas under completely random circumstances a couple years post incident and he looked fair, but alive and kicking, and not a person alive thought he was going to make it after that one.

 

I saw Roy in an interview and it was awkward to say the least. And MS is in much worse shape.

 

Totally different cases man. The brain is a different animal. And no, a year later and still unable to talk or move is not good news. What I bet never happened is MS stating his wishes (preferrably in writing) if something like this happened. Nobody wants to live like a veggie, especially after such an active (and risk-taking) life. After MS's accident, told my wife and daughters I want the plug pulled if the prognosis of something similar is not good after a reasonable amount of time. This reminded me of a cousin who lived 20 years like a veggie after a brain surgery, unable to speak, move, or anything else. Can't imagine a worse hell than that.

 

Amen.
Pete

 

considering his job and what he did to enjoy himself when not working, I'm pretty damn sure he had something in writing. MSC is no dummy and he knows that technology moves fast.

New advancements are made daily. Lets say he does live in his current state for the next 5 years, and suddenly, a groundbreaking ''fix'' is found, and he gets to live again like a normal person. Yes, he''ll almost certainly will have to relearn a LOT of stuff, but if he can see his kids grow, isn't that what matters?

 

I remain an optimist regardless, but I can guarantee you every F1 driver has a very detailed Will ready from the moment they were granted a superlicense.

 

Again, were MS a commoner he'd already be dead by now. Nobody builds a multi-million dollar mini-hospital at their house with a medical staff. If they have taken it to that extent then what does that tell you about MS's physical condition? The measures taken in this case are beyond extreme in nature and do not reflect "reality" for most people. Keeping comatose people alive like this is for selfish interests and attachments of the living--not for benefit of the comatose patient. This is my opinion. You may not share it but this is my idea of the reality of MS's condition beyond the gossip and ridiculous melodrama byproduct created by the media blackout. He's not the same guy and never will be again in the physical plane.

 

A friend of mine who is a big MS fan, thinks it is a shame what the family is doing and thinks the fans should start a movement/website "Let Schumi go".

Israel kept its Prime Minister on life support for many years until nature finally run its course. With MS unlimited funds he might be left to a similar fate.

My personal view is that the MS we all knew, died on the ski slope.

 

Good idea. Your last sentence is what I believe is happening and I've posted about that here before.
Pete

 

Your friend is an ass. He has no idea if Michael actually wanted to be kept alive or even what his real condition is right now. You really think that if Michael had left explicit instructions to be let go in the event of an injury like this that Corinna would or even could go against it?

 

Sadly, yes. And it's not "being negative" or "being a downer" to just admit to this and let him go. He's no longer the man he was and never will be. His massive idol/celebrity status and being a "hero" to so many doesn't change the fact that he is actually a man--like you and I--vulnerable to time, injury, and illness. And this proves that money cannot, will not, absolutely is powerless, against the aforementioned. Building at an at-home mini-hospital is so beyond the beyond that we often fail to step back and see how insane it is. Would your family build you a mini-hospital at home to keep you in a comatose state for the next 20 years?

 

I doubt it is that black and white and Corinna prefers to err on the safe side. MS is not in a full coma nor is he fully awake or able to show that (based on what little we know). So there is a grey area. But I really doubt he wanted to be kept alive like this.

DNRs are not always that case specific as there are an infinite amount of scenarios

 

You know the answer.

In a way I was wondering whether religious beliefs could be the cause but then again I'm thinking that those arguments actually could go both ways.

 

Understood but again, we don't know the details. Imagine if the family don't want to see him like this but are forced to because he said so. People have themselves frozen after death in the crazy hope that they can be thawed in the future and reanimated. If Michael didn't want to be let go because of some loony hope and now the family is forced to see him in a vey bad state every day, a "let Schumi go" website/movement is about as insensitive as it gets. Without real facts that would be a really bad idea.

Again, IMO the best way for fans to cope is to leave it to the family as a private matter.

 

Yes that

Insofar as spirituality or religion, it is my view that the world beyond this one is far less restrictive than a comatose or semi-comatose shattered body. Look up some accounts of NDEs on Youtube and you'll be shocked. But that is off-topic and will not sit well with some readers here.

Back to the coma.....

 

I read a lot about that actually and based on that alone would prefer to be let go. Anyway.

 

+1 How lucky do you think I feel...

 

Friend, there are facts. Look at the situation for what it is.

The family has built a multi-million dollar mini-hospital at home for MS. This is keeping him alive. Do you see this happening regularly in families of brain injured patients in comas? If not then what does that tell you about MS's condition?

 

Good man

 

My point is we don't know for a fact if it's the family doing it because they feel like it and against Michael's wishes or if Michael wanted it that way. The thought of a website advocating he be left to die doesn't sit well with me unless I know for a fact he wanted it that way.

 

Thinking about it, my feeling is that the reason Corinna hasn't "pulled the plug" is the fact, that there is no plug: He is not on immediate life support, which could be turned off. So what would kill him now are secondary complications (as some doctors on here pointed out), which arise from just lying there. That's where the 160k in medical support costs come in: To move and clean his body, feed him, muscle therapy etc. Those things could be left off, but the argument against that is that it would make him feel worse and wouldn't really be instantly killing. So you can't do that either because you don't want him to suffer. Which is probably why they are at where they are.

In that way I can understand them. This is really the worst possible state to be in.

 

And people wonder why the family guards its privacy.

 

Yup

 

+1.

While I certainly appreciate those who maintain an optimistic view, I am afraid MS will not recover from this accident. Remember, he flew over the tips of his skis and struck rocks 30-40 feet away, indicating a high speed. He had 2 intercranial bleeds (they did not say whether they were subdural or epidural in nature), but the intercranial pressure must have been very, very high. It took over 2 hours to get him, via life flight to the trauma center. This, in itself, bodes extremely poorly.