The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

A short update: Sabine Kehm told the media that there's, well, no update.

 

Article largely based on interview with Uwe Kehler, head of neurosurgery at the Asklepios hospital in Hamburg.

 

Michael Schumacher's manager criticises 'invalid' reporting - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

Micheal's management - Sabine Kehm issued a statement on Saturday morning underlining that information regarding Schumacher's health would only be issued via the hospital or herself.

"We would like to clearly stress that any information regarding Michael's health not coming from the doctors treating him or from his management must be treated as invalid and pure speculation.

"In consultation with the doctors treating Michael, it is not expected there there will be any press conference before Monday."

Kehm also addressed reports that police were examining footage from a helmet camera worn by Schumacher during the skiing trip on which the accident happened.

"Michael's helmet camera was voluntarily given to the investigating authorities by the family," she said.

 

Happy Birthday!!!
Everyone is pulling for you..

 

We seem to have all manner of Doctors/experts from all over the World, all giving their various opinions about Michaels progress and possible/expected recovery, both positive and slightly negative, but the truth of the matter is, none of them really know because they're not the ones treating him! The fact that there is no concordant opinion between them all proves this!

Basically all they are doing is speculating on what might happen.


As I see it, they don't have anything like enough detailed information about Michaels personal condition to be giving out information or trying to make any prognosis about his future.

As I've posted several times previously, no two cases are identical, no two people are identical, and no two recoveries are exactly identical.

Michaels condition and recovery will progress in it's own, unique way, and the only people who can give any real information on the subject are his own Doctors, either directly or via Sabine Kehm.

Michaels road to recovery is going to be a long and tough process, with many obstacles to get past, but if anyone can do it, Schuey can! - And the Tifosi will be there to help him every step of the way!

FORZA SCHUEY!

 

Phil. You are correct. However I feel that experts providing general information as to treatment and outcomes of these types of injuries is useful and helpful. I doubt anyone taking publicly currently knows the specific details / severity of Michael's injuries. That said, I think it helps for people to be aware of the broad spectrum of possible outcomes.

Nothing in the article I posted discusses Michaels case specifically, rather sever head trauma in general. I think most will find it useful, as long as readers remember what you so correctly point out... no two cases are the same and that the doctor being interviewed and the journalist presumably have no direct knowledge of Michael's case.

That said, I think we both know that the information we get from Sabine Kehm will be carefully controlled. She is first a PR person. Complete disclosure is not her job.

 

Streiff commented that he is concerned about the brain injuries in the location where Schumacher's speech is controlled. A comment, which some thought shouldn't have been made to the public.

On a related note I was delighted to get an update on Streiff himself: I was glad to see him drive a car. He is "only" a paraplegic after his accident. I remember reading reports back when it happened stating he had become a quadruplegic. I often thought about him laying somewhere in a bed. So I was thrilled to see him move around.

 

He wore a helmet camera? Now that's interesting footage.

Kai

 

I totally agree that it helps keep everyone informed about a subject that is one of the most complicated possible......


............and I would like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to everyone on here that specialises in neurosurgery/head trauma cases for explaining the various statements made about Michaels condition by his Doctors, and explaining it in terms that the average, everyday guy can understand - You have all done a sterling job! (And a big thank you for all the lives that you have helped over the years too! - You guys deserve a lot of credit for your achievements that change peoples lives on a daily basis!).

I think that the very fact that there is no consensus of opinion between all of the specialists highlights just how complex the whole situation is and that there is no single path that any recovery can take.

It has been interesting to see though that what one specialist sees as a positive sign, is not a positive sign for another specialist. Different thought processes create different opinions I guess!

I think that the problem is, the press approach these various specialists who talk in general terms about the type of head trauma that Michael has suffered and what could happen, voicing their own personal opinion that might vary from another specialists, and then the press use these statements as if it is the fact in Michaels case.

My post was made to try to reaffirm to people that the only Doctors who know the true picture of Michaels condition are his Doctors - The rest are just guessing about the possibilities.

As for Sabine, Yes she is a PR person and I think she's done an incredible job of holding everything together, keeping everybody's feet on the ground and keeping the World informed of the latest progress during what must be one of the most stressful times of her life! - I think she deserves some credit for that.

I'm sure she is the first person who would love to be able to give everyone some proper good news about Michael, but she's been very careful to keep things real and not give out any false hope to the fans/public. TBH, I think she is Michaels friend first and his PR agent/Manager second and just wants him to be well for himself, his family, his friends and all of his fans around the World, and I have a lot of respect for her for that!

 

I know what he said exactly, but I didn't want to mention this one point.

For me there is a difference - the doctors said, Michael is out of mortal danger, but he, Philippe Streiff, is concerned about that one issue.
So this was too much speculation for me.

 

Why would the family release that??

He crashed into a rock. What is there to investigate??

 

Anybody here actually know if this thread is reaching any family members, team, hospital staff, etc?

 

Happy Birthday Michael,Wishing you the best possible outcome and a speedy recovery

 

Should the area have been cordoned off?
Did the resort do all it can to keep skiers safe?
What is the risk of it happening to other skiers?
What lessons can be learnt from this incident to protect others?

Why should it be any different to a car accident in which the only injured party is the driver?

 

I would doubt very much that they would be reading the many many tribute threads on the various Motorsport forums on the WWW. Why would they.

 

+1

Some very well thought out posts there Phil, thanks.

I'd go even further WRT to the above; Not even his doctors know the true picture as yet! He's 'stable', which I believe from what the experts have said is a good sign, but beyond that nobody knows. Once they start to wake him up (and I'm sure we'll hear when that process starts) they'll keep us all informed I'm sure.

Another big +1

Seems she's doing a wonderful job of protecting Corinna and the rest of the family etc. She's earning her keep right now, that's for sure!

As for 'experts' commenting that he may have hurt 'part of the brain responsible for speech' etc, **** off!.....

Godspeed Michael.

Ian

 

I was probably not that clear as you missed my question....... How do we know that X number of family, team, etc.
even know that this board / this thread even exists.

 

While the standards in France are certainly much different than in the US, this was a serious accident that occurred on property (owned and managed in part by private enterprise and local / national government) available for public use ---- law requires that it be investigated to the fullest extent possible --- in France just as it would be in almost any other country.

The Schumachers are just voluntarily complying to assist the authorities by providing whatever relevant information they have. Even if they (MS family) choose not to attempt to litigate for damages against the ski resort (a possibility, but which I highly doubt they would), it does not release the authorities from their civic duty to investigate fully to determine whether or not there was any negligence / public safety hazard on the part of the ski area.

Theoretically, withholding the footage could possibly be interpreted as obstruction. So, the question becomes, "Why would the family not release that ?".

This does not mean it will ever be "released" to the public or shown on CNN (God forbid !) --- it will stay only in the privacy of the legal system. Unless, the family were to choose to release it publicly as well......and I cannot imagine they would ever do that.

 

Just changed my avatar to a pic of Michael's dragon logo on a hat shot thru my F50 nut...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Exactly: the court of Albertville as asked for an official enquiry to be opened, this already on December 30th. The "peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute-Montagne" of Bourg St Maurice (High altitude mountain gendarmerie squad of Bourg St Maurice) is in charge of said enquiry, the official purposes of which it is to "bring light to the causes and consequences" of the accident.
This is "Standard Operating Procedure", left to the discretion of the court (opening one / not opening one), the purpose being probably to clear if the "off-track" part of the ski resort was clearly identified as such.
The fact that MS helmet was equipped with a type of "Go-Pro" camera came into light only yesterday (at least publicly), and it could help to clear some of the circumstances of the accident, as there have been some conflicting versions about this (he was going fast, according to some; he was not going fast at all, according to others).
It should also be noted that it has been clearly stated that no-one knows yet if said camera was actually turned on during the accident.

There is to this day no mention of any litigation whatsoever, even if the perspective has probably been evaluated.
All expenses of MS hospitalisation are, for the time being, been paid by the French Social Security, which, again, is "Standard Operating Procedure"; it will be evaluated later, or is been evaluated already, how these expenses will be reimbursed to the french Social Security by any type of insurance that might be covering MS.

Absolutely nothing unusual here.

Rgds

 

exactly.

I do hope the champion is making progress. the silence is deafening. I remain thinking about you and praying for a good result Michael.

 

come on.

 

Skiers assume a level of risk when the go skiing. You sound like a lawyer that wants to know why all trees and rocks don't have 4ft air bags around them. What can be learned from this is that all sports have a certain level of risk associated with them and the participant is ultimately responsible for their own risk exposure.

Now, there is a level of caution/warning the resort needs to establish when extreme danger exists like an unseen cliff. It needs to be marked and blocked off. I also believe the skiers sign or otherwise agree to a release when buying the lift ticket.

 

How about a flag warning for an unseen jagged rock hazard that causes comas?

 

Fantastic! How big should the rock need to be? How should it be positioned to cause coma so it can be appropriately tagged? If you tag all rocks, then no rock needs to be tagged because it is common knowledge rocks can hurt you.