Michael Schumacher in a coma after hitting head skiing!

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,715
18,033
126
oh oh, hit head on rock, with helmet, emergency surgery and now still in coma


http://www.cbc.ca/sports/michael-schumacher-in-coma-after-ski-accident-1.2478473

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery following a skiing accident in the French Alps on Sunday, doctors said.
The Grenoble University Hospital Center said the retired racing driver arrived at the clinic in a coma and underwent immediate surgery for a serious head trauma.
It was not clear whether the 44-year-old Schumacher was still in a coma but the hospital statement, which was signed by a neurosurgeon, an anesthesiologist and Marc Penaud, the hospital's deputy director, said "he remains in a critical condition."
Schumacher fell while skiing off-piste in Meribel earlier Sunday and hit his head on a rock, according to a statement from the resort. Resort managers said he had been wearing a helmet and was conscious when rescuers first responded to the scene.
Earlier in the day, the Meribel resort said Schumacher had been taken to Grenoble for tests and authorities said his life was not in danger.
But the situation began to appear more serious when the resort said that orthopedic and trauma surgeon Gerard Saillant had travelled from Paris to the hospital in Grenoble to examine Schumacher. German news agency dpa said it was Saillant who operated on Schumacher when he broke his leg during a crash at the Silverstone race course in 1999.
Private skiing trip

In an email to The Associated Press, Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said the champion German driver was on a private skiing trip and "fell on his head."
"We ask for understanding that we cannot give running updates on his condition. He wore a helmet and was not alone," Kehm said. Schumacher's 14-year-old son was skiing with his father when the accident happened, the resort said.
As news of the accident spread, Formula One drivers used social media to wish Schumacher a quick recovery.
His former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who recovered from life-threatening injuries sustained at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009, wrote on Instagram: "I am praying for you my brother!! I hope you have a quick recovery!! God bless you Michael."
The Twitter feed of Germany's Adrian Sutil, who drives for Sauber, read: "I hope Michael Schumacher will get well soon! All my best to him and his family." Romain Grosjean of Lotus tweeted: "All our thoughts to Schumi and his family! Hope you will recover soon .legend .Schumi."
Support also came from leading German sports personalities, ranging from the NBA to soccer. Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki said his thoughts were with Schumacher, while Lukas Podolski, who plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, tweeted: "Bad news from Switzerland: please get well soon, Michael Schumacher. All the best for you, my friend! .getwellsoon .MichaelSchumacher."
In addition to the crash at Silverstone, Schumacher was hurt seriously in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 in Spain when he suffered neck and spine injuries. He recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback in F1.
Schumacher initially retired from F1 in 2006 after winning five straight titles with Ferrari following two earlier ones with Benetton. He returned to the sport in 2010 and drove for three seasons for Mercedes without much success before retiring again last year.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Damn. Hope the best for the legend.

What a way for events to unfold though. A legendary champion of the fastest four-wheel motorsport, where fast blind corners, insane hairpins and other tight-apex turns after long straights (brake fade/fail at end of race: eek!), and all sorts of dangerous turn/speed combos are routine; he retires, to face some of the worst life can throw at him... while skiing.

Best of luck
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
I didn't even know he was a congressman. :/

They say we're young, and we don't know
We won't find out until we grow
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
He was known to be an excellent skier, actually.

Hopefully his helmet saved his life.

Even if it doesn't, I'm sure he wouldn't even be at this point if there wasn't a helmet. Even in the worst circumstances, it gives someone a hell of a fighting chance more often than not. Not always possible to win out in all circumstances, but they definitely save significant damage, 99% of the time (made up on the spot :p - I like the imagine the other 1% is simply those accidents where something jumps up and bites you through the neck/jaw/cheek/nose/eyes/forehead, instead of being the back/top/side of the head).
 

adlep

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2001
5,287
6
81
What's worrisome is the fact that he was initially conscious, I guess his brain has swelled bad.
 

SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
27,928
143
106
Never heard of him. You mean people actually get paid to drive cars? Interesting. Hope he survives.
 

twinrider1

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2003
4,096
64
91
I didn't even know he was a congressman. :/

They say we're young, and we don't know
We won't find out until we grow

AutoRacing-e0601185b.jpg



Jokes aside, I hope he recovers. Weird, I read a blurb on it earlier today and it didn't sound at all serious.
 

manimal

Lifer
Mar 30, 2007
13,559
8
0
Ya I loved to hate him in the Benetton days and as a lifelong tifoso I begrudgingly accepted him when he went to Ferrari.

Reminds me of Miranda Richardson. Really hope Schumi pulls out of this.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
I am confused. How does one make a living not crashing their car at 200MPH and then crash themselves while skiing?

I hope he recovers though. Otherwise, who else will drive that FXX?
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,228
136
Remember, the coma he's in is a medically induced coma......in an attempt to control the swelling of his brain. Different than a "he hit his head and is now comatose" coma. Remove the phenobarb. drip he's on and he very well would wake up...and herniate his brain stem.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,576
126
Senna > Shummie

Yes, but:

Nationality Brazilian
Active years 1984–1994
Teams Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams
Races 162 (161 starts)
Championships 3 (1988, 1990, 1991)
Wins 41
Podiums 80
Career points 610 (614)[1]
Pole positions 65
Fastest laps 19

Nationality German
Active years 1991–2006, 2010–2012
Teams Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, Mercedes
Races 308 (307 starts)
Championships 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Wins 91
Podiums 155
Career points 1,566
Pole positions 68
Fastest laps 77
 

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Remember, the coma he's in is a medically induced coma......in an attempt to control the swelling of his brain. Different than a "he hit his head and is now comatose" coma. Remove the phenobarb. drip he's on and he very well would wake up...and herniate his brain stem.

They're clearly maintaining him in a coma, but the latest statements by the medical staff indicate that he arrived at the hospital in an agitated state and acting erratically and then "went into a coma." So it sounds like the coma may indeed have been a result of the injury and not the doctor's actions, at least initially.
 

Vdubchaos

Lifer
Nov 11, 2009
10,408
10
0
Yes, but:

Nationality Brazilian
Active years 1984&#8211;1994
Teams Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams
Races 162 (161 starts)
Championships 3 (1988, 1990, 1991)
Wins 41
Podiums 80
Career points 610 (614)[1]
Pole positions 65
Fastest laps 19

Nationality German
Active years 1991&#8211;2006, 2010&#8211;2012
Teams Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, Mercedes
Races 308 (307 starts)
Championships 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Wins 91
Podiums 155
Career points 1,566
Pole positions 68
Fastest laps 77

90s/2000s F1 cars and 80s were in a whole another galaxy. We are talking raw machine vs heavily assisted robots.