+1 I found myself "intrigued" by the "relaunch" of his site - Only to find that story is also 9 months old. But, I did revisit it, and I noticed this; Godspeed Michael, Ian Image Unavailable, Please Login
When you see this and realize he is about twice the next two best combined, you have to just marvel at what we witnessed. and, not to beat a dead horse but worth mentioning anyway, his one-off 'errors', intentional or not, when regarding the large number of good things he accomplished should be considered as a fraction and IMO not a factor in the grand scope.
There was a picture of Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton all chasing each other in Hockenheim in 2012 I believe, and all their wins stacked up to 91. That seriously put Schumachers' overall wins in how dominating that was.
One of the iconic cars he drove is going to be sold. From the article: Featuring a Ferrari Tipo046 75-degree V10 powerplant, the racecar led Schumacher to victory at Suzuka the second to last race in the 1997 season giving him a one point advantage against his direct competitor, Jaques Villeneuve. Photos and video - Schumacher Ferrari F310B Formula 1 Car Up For Sale . Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Going on 2 years and virtually no real news except that he is "recovering." That could mean anything. If he could talk, walk, do anything then that would be at least in the racing community newsfeeds but no such news exists.
Yeah I don't like the situation anymore than you but I think with the extended bed-stay his physique is probably ghastly looking. If you don't use your body it tends to shrink and shrivel up. And if all he's doing to keep alive is live off IV drips then he can't possibly be the big German athlete that we're used to seeing. He must look like a concentration camp victim.
Extended effects of coma on the body: Coma vs. muscle atrophy / joint stiffness? - Straight Dope Message Board excerpt: "I was in a coma for about 2 weeks 15 years ago. Let me tell you that its not AT ALL like its depicted in films and tv. After I woke up, I was in bed for about 3 weeks 24/7 until I started Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. It was probably 2-3 weeks before I could walk unassisted for short periods of time (say 5 minutes). About 3-4 months before I could walk for short-medium lengths of time (say 20-30 minutes without a break) about 6 months before I was 'normal'. I was gymnast before and I was very flexible and I never got all of my flexibility back."
"Patients who are immobilized for long periods may also need splints applied to the wrists, ankles, or other joints to minimize contractures. This is because the strength of flexor muscles and extensor muscles rarely matches perfectly, so the elbows will flex, the wrists will curl, and the feet will pulled gradually into a 'tiptoe' position. This assumes that the injury that the person suffered has left them with some native muscle tone, however minimal. These sorts of contractures do not resolve if the patient wakes up - they will require exhaustive PT/OT to correct, if not surgery to release the shortened muscles/tendons."
So the big question is, is he still in a coma, or is he recovering from it? Even then, that's only the physical side....we have no clue about anything else.
Good question. The latest "news" seems to imply he is alert and awake but a mute and cannot do anything for himself. He can move his eyes and blink and that is about it. But who knows.
The issue will involve the extended immobilization of his body. I wonder if he is paralyzed or just immobilized?
Last update is that he could communicate with his eyes but he is ''recovering''. Quite to what extend has never been told to us, just that he keeps making small steps. The chance to see him walk again in my opinion is extremely low. Given the information we have, ''recovery'' is talking and hopefully that's something he'll be able to do.
Would have been better for all involved if he passed on that ski slope. Reminds me of watching my Mom die of cancer. The doctors have kept him alive but at what cost and whats going on in his mind,screw the doctors and machines and let him pass into a hopefully better world.
I agree generally. This gets back to the whole callous debate over the wife's/family's selfishness to keep a warm body alive versus quality of life for that body. Even if Schumacher can understand and hear and see everything in the twilight state of the coma, and "awake state" thereafter, how prison-like it must be for him. He has no say in his life or control over it--anathema to his whole prior life's purpose. This must surely cross the mind of the wife? If not then she is selfishly keeping him as a trophy by her side, a breathing prop. Yes it's her (or the family's) jurisdiction and they can do as they wish. But had he been a commoner he'd already be dead. Only lavish money is keeping him alive. If everyone following the thread were to actually see what it looks like at their home hospital it'd be quite insane. This is probably one of the reasons for a news blackout. They don't need the criticism that I have outlaid.
I think you are probably right. As someone posted above, when we don't use our bodies and muscles..everything shrinks. Anyhow, i read a few days ago, some article about MS, which i never knew. They even had a sketch on how and where they removed part of his skull to relieve the pressure of the swelling brain. The article also says that MS was fed through tubes connected to his stomach, and that constant massages was needed for the muscles, and blood circulation. It concluded that Philip Streif, or whatever his name...visit MS and said that he was on a wheelchair, paralyzed and unable to speak. Now the last part, i know that Philip guy released a statement about MS's condition, which was shot down by Sabine. But, i never knew he did actually visited MS. If he did, then whatever he said was probably true. I can't imagine what MS is going through right now. I think, probably it's time for Sabine to actually shed some news. A colleague of mine today randomly asked me...'hey, is this Michael Schumacher guy still alive?' It says a thousand things.
As we all roll down the busy hwy of life haven't given much thought to his state recently. Would be nice to have some news on his state any news but hopefully positive.