The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

''Misshapen head'' could well be from all the surgeries he's had. That said, when is dad said they need a miracle to see a recovery said it all really. Very dire situation. From what I understand from his injuries is that the brain on a scan looks fine, all the important bits look ok...it's the little wires inbetween that don't function.

See it as a computer...A desktop, printer, router and the internet all work fine, but without any wires connecting them there's no way they can ''talk'' to each other.

 

It's called WiFi!!

 

Ok.

See it the same but with wifi unable to connect.

 

In response to my previous post, the difference between Schumi and Bianchi is that Schumacher as far as I can tell has a section of the brain that's been damaged, i.e. they localized the problem. Whether this heals over time (at this point ''settle'' for partial recovery) is a somewhat unanswered question, as none of us is Sabine Kehm, all we know is that she updates us saying he keeps making small stept into the right direction and that recovery can take 3+ years (and then the question is what is considered recovered? For me at this point with the information we have if he can talk and be in a wheelchair is a victory).

Andrew (or other M.D's here) can perhaps enlighten us more RE Bianchi and his ''broken wires''. From what I know about that (very little) the chance of recovering (waking up!) from that, and it deeply pains me to say it, is much, much smaller than the chance of Schumacher being able to talk...

 

As I have stated before, I have no doubt Schumacher has a multi layered living will aka durable power of attorney with a healthcare directive in place for such situations. Additionally, I am certain such instructions feature detailed language regarding the medical circumstances (down to the percentage of likely recovery) under which time the plug is to be pulled. With individuals as well known and wealthy as Michael, this type of Russian novel sized living trust/living will is not uncommon.

I read all the news with cautious hope that those circumstances under which the plug is to be pulled have not been realized, which is cause for optimism as I see it anyway.

 

Bas, the longer a brain injured patient doesn't recover the poorer the outcome is likely to be. Bianci, on that basis has a poor outcome. A year ago I commented on Michael and was pilloried that his outcome was dismal, that the news would fade away and the progress would be non existent. Did he have a living will? I do-no CPR,no prolonged resuscitation. I don't think Michael is in charge, his family is, and for whatever reason they are not dealing with reality. I feel very sorry for Michael that he cant express his will, but certainly its not "living" in his current state. As far as Bianchi if the computer is OK but the wiring is shot,it still wont work.

 

I am friends with several guys on the team (email & Facebook) and see them once a year and we spend an entire evening together with them in Montreal when the Grand Prix comes to town. Inevitably, the conversation/questions last year were all about Schumi (Bianchi was also there and we spoke to him about Schumi as well and how bad he felt about his hero being in that condition)

This year we discussed Bianchi's state and they described his head shape and how pessimistic they are and how much worse he is than Schumacher.

I don't have any first hand knowledge other than speaking to the guys on the team and Massimo Rivola. I don't see why they would lie to us...

 

Sigh...

 

They may not lie to you, but maybe they're misinformed. Happens all the time.

I'm not saying they're misinformed either....it's just a possibility.

 

I agree with you. To think that brain damaged patients can still have great improvments after years and years is a false belief. The maximum of the recovery is done during the first year. Brain plasticity has limits

 

A similar patient in Michaels condition would be dead already. Michael was injured when he was in top physical condition. He has all the attention to keep his body flexible,and prevent bed sores. Incontinence would be taken care of immediatly. However a person with minimal brain function still deteriorates.Just so sad.

 

Mick recently broke his hand in an F4 event. There have been anecdotes from other racers with Mick who heard Mick say 'Dad is waking up very slowly' or something to that effect. This is buttressed by Sabine who stated about a month ago that Michael was still making 'progress, but you must keep in mind the severity of the injuries'.

Progress is progress, so a good thing as I see it.

 

If it is true he cannot speak or move, sadly, progress at this point is toward bedsores, DVT, PE, pneumonia, stress ulcers, GI bleed, bacteremia, sepsis etc.

 

It's actually a very old update i'm afraid my friend. I think 2 months ago. At this point, nothing new.

 

It was a month ago.

 

Bianchi's father "less optimistic" about recovery | Formula 1 news | Motorsport.com

Ah man, definitely not nice to read this

 

+1 very sad indeed.

 

Has anyone heard anything new...?

 

Yeap. Still in the dark.

 

The latest I could find: Michael Schumacher news: A year after coming out of coma there have been precious few signs of progress - Telegraph

Doesn't seem to be much improvement. Sad. How things can change in an instant, even knowing the things you love/like must be done.

 

Pointless article. Just a summary of things we already knew.

Sabine has said countless times that updates will be very rare. He and his family have been very private for as long as they could. Their last update was that he faces a long fight. 9 Months has passed but the time line is much longer. I suspect the first official update will be end of december.

 

Dayum!.... Maybe it's just me, but my heart skips a beat whenever this thread pops to the top.

Of course I hope for good news at some point, but fear the worst.

Godspeed Michael,
Ian