The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

That was a great piece by DC

 

+1

As noted, every day that goes by now is a good sign at least.

It's still very much a waiting game I guess. I believe he's still at a reduced body temperature. Do any of the docs here want to comment (OK, speculate ) on how long they expect, assuming no setbacks of course, before they start to wake him up? (Days, weeks, months?)

Come on Michael! You're gonna get thru this!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Days.

 

I'm no Doctor so stand to be corrected but I'd say that every case is different and so no real speculation/guess could be made.

It'll only be when Michaels personal condition, vital signs and other parameters are properly stabilised that they'll even contemplate bringing him out of the induced coma, which could be in days, weeks or even months (I suspect it's more likely to be days or weeks though).

It's something they definitely wont gamble with though, that's for sure!

 

Excellent! Thanks.

I'm optimistic now that he's gonna be OK!

Godspeed.

 

Im also optimistic,lets wait and pray.

 

Didn't say how many days.

I'd hazard a guess to a range of 4-10 days though.
Once intracranial pressure situation seems stabilized they will surgically correct the skull structure then likely start trials of lightened sedation on a daily basis.
The crux is the pressure issue since no doubt the rest of his body is at 100%.
Lightening sedation will raise the pressure, so that can only be attempted when situation is clearly better.
I am sure others here can correct me on this, I am relying upon my recollection from days as a medical resident in New York in the 90's...and protocols have likely evolved since then.
I am certain though the most critical days are the first three days however, and we seem to be emerging from that ultra-critical phase.

 

Luck, and let's face it, he has had the luck of 100 men, runs out on all of us at some point.

I hope he gets through this ok and wakes up as the same person.

 

If OK means survive... Each day makes that more likely. He is still almost certainly critical.

But do not underestimate the amount of damage his brain has received.

Michael has a long fight ahead.

 

I am optimistic now, while I wasn't when I heard the news the first day.

Strangely, I do have the feeling that most members of this forum are as optimistic as Michael,
given the type of cars we are driving ;-)

Seriously, if you drive a Ferrari you have to be optimistic and not think about a DNF (did not finish).

Cheer up fellas, you gotta !

 

Indeed!

'Typical' CYA comment from a doc! Put a smile on my face though! Thanks!

Hopefully indeed!

Again, thanks for the insights.

No doubt he's got a *long* way to go, but we've all got to remain optimistic.

If a midget from Birmingham can come come back 'good as before', surely Michael can!

Cheers,
Ian

 

This reminds me of the Cristiano da Matta crash; hopefully MS has the same recovery

On August 3, 2006 da Matta's car was involved in a collision with a deer that ran in front of him as he headed towards turn 6 during Champ Car open testing at Road America. He hit the deer with his right front tire, the deer then flew back and hit da Matta in the cockpit.[2] It is believed when the deer hit da Matta in the cockpit, he was knocked unconscious. He remained unconscious with his foot still on the brake when the safety crew arrived and extricated da Matta from the car.[3] Da Matta was then airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.[4] Following the surgery, da Matta was placed in an induced coma, to allow for the swelling to subside.[5] As of August 7, da Matta was making "slow but steady progress", while the doctors were working on reducing da Matta's level of sedation.[6] This slow recovery was confirmed on August 9, as it was reported that da Matta was able to move "all of his extremities spontaneously as well as in response to physical stimulation".[7] On August 20, da Matta was transferred out of intensive care.[8] On August 30, da Matta was confirmed to have made steady progress, conversing in English and Portuguese, and walking short distances.[9] On 21 September 2006, da Matta was allowed to leave the hospital after having recovered better than expected.[10]
When the Champ Car World Series returned to race in the Grand Prix of Road America on September 24, da Matta gave the traditional command - "start your engines". Throughout the next couple of years, he engaged in a training and therapy regime while deciding his racing future.[11]

 

For those interested in what goes on medically in these cases I found both of these books really interesting....First one was recommended by an fchatter.....

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/13918751452009327508?q=Neurosurgeon+books&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=LC7&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&biw=1280&bih=959&ei=JVrEUq_WMqKf2QWfvoGYDw&ved=0COgCEKYrMAw4FA

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/205853540938083676?q=Neurosurgeon+books&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=dXm&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&biw=1280&bih=959&ei=TVrEUvn_NcWp2gX54oCYCA&ved=0CPsBEKYrMAc4KA

 

Dr. & Dr.,

Would you not also agree that a paramount issue is the fact that there is / has been, according to the reports, at least one major bleed (repeated hematomas intervened surgically) --- and likely other minor bleeds since "multiple lesions and clots" have been identified ?

First (concurrent with controlling / reducing generalized swelling and elevated pressure) then is can all the bleeds be successfully stopped and / or resolved on their own ? Second is to remove / resolve / re-absorb all significant clots in order to restore as much blood flow as possible and reduce risk of infarct. Assuming that all of this happens successfully, there then remains the concern of how much tissue has been / will be / may be lost from the ischemia --- and what permanent damage to any critical areas may have occurred. Also, the possibility of seizures --- both transient and perpetual --- once coma is withdrawn is of great concern.

My biggest fear for him and his family is not whether or not he survives (which looks ever more increasingly promising that he will), but rather what will be the quality of his permanent surviving condition....

 

Yes precisely. That is unknown and cannot be known at this time. He could recover quickly and be back on the slopes by next season (which he probably would do) or he could be a vegetable forever.

 

I guess this statement is the reality check.... I really hope he returns to a normal quality of life when all this is over.

 

Yes indeed --- for me personally, I can imagine worse things than death for myself or a loved one.

 

I have high hope for MS, if Massa came back and race competitively from a tragic accident, MS will too.

 

I doubt that. MS retired from F1. Of course never say never but it's highly doubtful he will ever race competitively again in an F1 car.

 

Is it possible to make a full recovery? If yes, what are the odds of that? If I was him, and I'd be crippled for life, and make it hell for my family and myself, I'd better be gone now. But that's just me . Hopefully fate will make the right choice, and if he survives, at least be able to walk, talk, and have a semi-normal life, fully independent .

 

100% Full? I have no idea. I'm not a doctor but I'd say no.

It's up to God and fate and Michael's own choices on subconscious levels. Positive energy and prayer does work. So we shall keep that going here.

 

This piece was written yesterday, and the wording makes it relatively easy to understand what Schuey's condition is probably like :

I really need to get out and get stuff done, so I’ll post a more (this sounds SOOOOO ridiculous) ummmm . . . detailed analysis (ahem) of the presser when I’m back. Meanwhile, a synthesis. 4 main conclusions for me, for now:

1.Michael is in VERY good hands. It doesn’t matter a hoot that this or that famous neurosurgeon and/or neurointensivist would or wouldn’t do this or that element of Michael’s treatment, the point is that these guys are smart, they’re talking to each other and to the family, and they seem technically up to the job. Oh and by the way, the decision to evacuate the second, intracerebral, hematoma seems to me, a non neurointensivist, to make sense. But more on this later.

2.It sounds retrospectively that MichaeL’s ICP was worrisomely and persistently high yesterday, despite the right sided bone flap not having been closed. This was a standard and totally normal decision Sunday in the OR. The ICP problem was so worrisome that they considered a dip to be a “respite” allowing them to scoot to the scan. Now remember, I’m piecing this together from the words used, so everything I say is therefore subject to interpretation. But we’ve all had patients like this and agonised over going to the scan, coz until just before (the respite they’re talking about) every time we TOUCHED them their ICP shot up. So the decision was made to gain some room, and drain what sounds like superficial left-sided hematoma. These are usually left alone, and it had previously (and reasonably) been decided NOT to touch this one. But given the ICP problem, and that overall the brain was less “angry”, it was decided to evacuate it, especially as this meant leaving the left sided bone flap off.

3.This leads me to insist on just how sick Michael was yesterday. These guys were sweating bullets, doing everything known to man to help, and they deserve a lot of credit. But this was SERIOUSLY life threatening minute to minute yesterday.

4. Lastly, I think we can A) reset all the countdown clocks we started yesterday (time to reduce sedation, time to wean from vent, etc). And B) insist on just how severely Michael is injured. Be patient. This is gonna take a long time.

Tuesday press conference ? take 1 | A Former F1 Doc Writes

 

"Good" being a relative term in his case

No doubt Michael has a long road ahead but we're not dealing with an average human here. I predict his recovery will not only be far more complete than most expect but that it will also take much less time than is typical of such injuries.
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One example for a full recovery is ex Swiss national team skier Daniel Albrecht.
But his crash during a race in Kitzbühel in 2009 was at full race speed and at first glance
no one would think a human being could survive it.

Look:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AIDa9RSfHk0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAIDa9RSfHk0

So, full recovery is never ruled out.

But since none of us here know which brain regions of MS are concerned, everything is really
just speculation.

If you work in the medical field you have to be optimistic, it's part of your job.

Because if we as docs don't believe in our work nobody will.

 

Without seeing any of his scans and without knowing more about the size and location of the hemorrhages (pleural it seems based on reports), the amount of swelling (mass effect on brain , and shift of brain structures), and without knowing the extent of his surgeries (2 so far) no point even trying to guess.

The scary part about brain injuries is that blunt force trauma can rattle the entire brain and can cause diffuse axonal injury (DAI). This can be more debilitating than penetrating trauma. We've all seen press pictures of the person impaled with rebar through the brain that turns out, relatively, fine.

The doctors taking care of him can make educated guesses based on what they know,... but until they begin waking him up from his induced coma, even they don't know.

But the fact that he required 2 surgeries, and reports of additional areas of hemorrhage beyond those that were evacuated, suggest significant multifocal brain injury. I could not be more concerned.

Only time will tell for sure.

Now for the positive,... I can not imagine a better patient to fight through this than Michael Schumacher. He will get the best immediate care,... the best rehab,... and will work harder at his recovery than any.