The Michael Schumacher Career/Injury/Recovery Thread

My wife and I were at that race as well, incredible focus from both Schumachers to race that day. Also the last victory for the F2002 which was replaced by the F2003 GA the following race. On a lighter note, when we went to the factory in Maranello, we stopped counting how many Enzos we saw as they were road testing them, also saw a Pagani Zonda drive by the Ferrari factory while we there, it was amazing.

Wishing Michael all the best for his current struggle and hope he comes back to be the same person he was before. His generosity after the Tsunami was not highly publicized at the time, but was substantial and much appreciated. I only had the opportunity to meet him once at a Sushi restaurant during the USGP and found him to be very polite and the perfect gentleman even though we must have been the 100th fans to say hello and wish him luck on his way home from dinner. I have always even a huge fan and this one hits particulary hard as I thought that since he had retired one of my favorites had gotten out of Formula 1 alive and would be able to enjoy their life away from racing. Hoping this is a temporary setback and he is back living his life to the fullest.

 

They don't coddle you, my lovely first wife experienced it as almost another sport.

That said, this was a section of "off groomed course terrain" but if you watch the skiing adventure vidoes from this part of France that was NO WAY typical 'off piste' skiing, for Europe.

I agree the resort considered that the 'norm" for that trail merge.
Watching that video though they are skiing on rocks (or dirt) at several points in the filming. "Rock skis" indeed..

The crowds are bad too, but I have never gone during a Holiday.
Again, normal for the day...

 

He also grew up without much money, I believe his father was a bricklayer or similar. Someone in his town funded his early racing.
I'll double-check this but I believe I recall reading that he donated all of his very first prize money to a local school in need.

He is first class.
I find myself thinking about him all the time these last couple days.
For some reason I find hard to explain his injury has really upset me.

For some strange reason I feel the world is better off with him in it.

Champions like this need to overcome...they give us hope for humanity.

 

Even here in the USA, some plastic fencing and bamboo poles is "state of the art" in hazard flagging, and they move around as conditions require.

There are plenty of times you crest falling terrain and hopefully are at the speed you just "deal with it".

This just caught him out, and terrible fate where he fell. As noted earlier the helmets are designed for snow or another skier.

 

I think it could go either way. If you get your tips crossed and hung up on a rock you could get flung pretty quickly even though you weren't going that fast. On the other hand Mick was in front of him and he could've been chasing Mick and just lost it. They wouldn't want to necessarily announce that if it were the case.

 

This is just so tragic. MS is a demigod to me, and I loved his years in F1, especially all the Ferrari wins! He's also such a class act personally. Hope he makes it and recovers fully.

I look at the championship badge on my dash differently now.

Geo

 

as an example ..I was riding a ferry on Lake Geneva during the summer, at every stop kids would come running onto the docks as the ferry prepared to dock. Some of the kids would hang their legs over the side or just stand near the edge, then the 100' ship would hit the dock and they would all bounce around laughing.

In the USA there would be a locked gate and nobody would be allowed on the dock until the ship was tied up.

IMO were a bit too over regulated.

 

I find it sort of difficult to believe Michael wasn't traveling at a pretty good clip when this took place. Michael's helmet reportedly cracked, the extent of the crack we don't know, but there was a collision inside his head/helmet hard enough to cause internal bleeding and skull fractures. Such injuries whilst under the protection of a quality helmet require a significant amount of blunt trauma unfortunately. For instance, I reviewed a case not long ago where a party was in a significant frontal collision and his head completely destroyed the windshield from the inside yet he only suffered a concussion. Angle of impact could possibly have something to do with things of course. Michael's helmet, I hope and pray , saved his life.

 

I would love to think that my hero was skiing at 100 MPH trying to backflip over the green diamond bunny slope to land at the ski base, however we do not know. I do not necessarily have reason to believe what they are saying is not true. He had helped a friend who had fallen, Mick was in front, Michael was behind and got tripped up in the rocks. Accidents can happen in a freakish way.

 

Happy new year Schumi. See you soon.

 

I was fortunate at least to see him once as I attended the 2006 F1 in Shanghai. What an awesome day that was. I was a guest in a suite that was right above the Ferrari pit in which my pass allowed me some up close access. I came away with a handful of pics of the Ferrari pit and great memories of attending such an event, simply a wonderful day!

 

This Friday will be Michael's birthday #45 and simultanously birthday #2.
Wishing him all the best until then.

 

Very valid point. Off-trail, it's the equivalent of riding a motocross with a beanie helmet IMO. Better than nothing, but not much protection if you need it. My guess is follks making a living taking much higher risks, just don't see it in activities like skiing. And proof of that is his son was skiing with him. If he had recognized the danger of going off-trail, no way he'd allow his son to do it. They just don't think anything is going to happen. It was an accident, but like most accidents, they're preventable. Let that be a lesson for all of us, and if we decide to take those risks anyway, at least be mindful of the possible consequences (especially with our kids involved). Happy new year everybody.

 

My 3 kids all rushed to text or call me about Michael's accident. When they were just little tikes they used to curl up on the sofa with me and watch him race during his years of dominance, so each of them have been devoted fans for well over a decade.

I was chatting with my 22 year-old daughter last night and we agreed that he was not only an incredibly skilled driver he was also a world-class team builder, motivator, tactician, businessman and (we later learned) a caring humanitarian.

Together we also hoped that Michael continues to prove to everyone that he is a world-class fighter and comes out well on the other side of this terrible incident because his legacy deserves to continue to grow.

Regards and Happy Safe New Year to everyone. Cheers

 

Well my mother in law offered to come watch the kids for me so I can go snowboarding (wife is working in the ER tonight). It's a rare opportunity do I took it but it feels really eerie being up here thinking "it could happen to me". I ride fairly well, and am somewhat cautious (hey I'm 38, no teeny bopper anymore), and always wear a helmet.

Heck, I splurged 10 mins ago and bought a terrain park pass. After my hot choc and soup I'm back out there!!

Chris

 

Happy New Year to everybody on here, and I hope to the Good Lord that Schumi will wake up sooner than later and he will be fine!

 

I'm 54 now, always been athletic, BUT have definitely noticed something....when I'm on skis, and bad happens I go down HARD at this age vs. when I was younger....seems I was able to pull off some ski in the air to counter balance my fall, pull off some athletic recovery and NOT go down at all in my teens, 20's, 30's, but not 40's and 50's. Scares me to ski now. My son likes to go fast and I think about going down HARD at speed when trying to keep up with him :/

Also happens just the same at slow speed, reaction time thing no matter how fit or athletic when younger, just doesn't last that long. Roots and rocks just under the snow can trip you up in an instant and I can see how this could have happened at even slower speeds.

Hoping for his recovery and everyone have a safe New Years please and tell those you love...you love them!

 

+1 yes I understand. Over regulated is an understatement. That exists here because of lawyers and sue-happy people looking to cash in. It's only a matter of time before that culture infects Europe.

On that point, the USA leads the planet by millions of orders of magnitude in filed lawsuits. Here it is an industry like aerospace or ship building. It is also a national pastime--suing people.

This is why in the USA you see everything with multiple tags and labels on them. You can buy a toaster and a legal warning will be affixed to it that says "Do not eat." Someone must have tried to eat a toaster in the past and a lawsuit was filed against the manufacturer.

 

Good points. The helmet was for snow not to be smashed against rock. It did save his life however. He wasn't DOA. But sobriety and respect for risk is paramount. Most things in life are not "roped off" so of course one's judgment must be central. However I won't be skiing anytime soon and particularly nowhere near rocks. Forget it. I don't care how safe it is.

 

We can agree to disagree then No harm no foul. I accept your right to a differing view.

I've never been skiing but resorts are probably armed to the teeth with lawyers. When signing your lodging registration you probably hold harmless and indemnify the ski lodge for any tragedies that happen to you while out skiing. Otherwise the lodge would probably never be able to stay in business. So of course they are acutely aware of danger.

But I think the area of tragedy ought to be marked. At least an F1style warning flag or something to give a nod for those unwary. Wouldn't you want to know where Schumacher almost died?

 

I agree.

 

Mr Schumacher needs to get better,who's going to teach me how to drive that F1 Ferrari i'll get someday,,gods speed and hope/prayers

 

My own experience as orthopaedic surgeon is that most ski accidents I see happen on regular ski trails. Secondly, as with many motorcycle accidents, it is not caused by the skier or motorcycler him/herself but rather by others who collide with them coincidently or cut their paths without considering others. Sometimes it's icy conditions or fatiguing physical condition of the skiers.

While on a race track all participants know the rules, many skiers don't while endangering others. I had one patient last year who suffered a vertebral fracture in the lower back area from skiing off-piste (not like MS) performing dangerous jumps. His friends even filmed his crashed jump with their mobile phones because they wanted to put it on youtube (stupid teenagers) . So this young patient (who came together with his mother) could not only present his xrays to me but also his own accident on his iphone.

MS simply had very bad luck that day. He is not to blame, actually he is the ultimate professional when it comes to taking calculated risks.

Ski tracks were well prepared and the rocky area in between them would tell most skiers that at least you can ruin your skies hitting rocks underneath but would not imply anything life threatening. It's almost like your car catching fire accidentally because the guy in front of you threw his cigarette out of the window which ignited some leaking gasoline of your car.

Because the overall risk for injuries in winter sports is rather high in my oppinion (high velocity and no effective means of protection) I have quit snowboarding/skiing completely as well as motorcycling after my residencies in trauma centers.

The rate of injuries is so high since it not only comprises fatal head injuries and fractures but also many many irreversible joint injuries (mainly shoulder and knees).

A torn meniscus might not sound so bad but add the irreversible cartilage damages often accompanied with them and it will make you think twice.

It is so easy to get a car fixed (just a matter of material, time and money) but the human body is often too complex to fully reconstruct.

On the other hand, life itself is life threatening and if you have no fun living, life will just be miserable too...

 

My mother in law is 74 and put in 42 full days last season, get your butt out there!

 

Perfectly stated.