Michael Schumacher Updates

"macshome" (macshome) 01/06/2014 at 09:37 • Filed to: f1, schumacher

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(Here is an overview for those that haven't been compulsively following the story.)

A few updates on this sad story:

• Michael was in really, really bad shape when he arrived at the hospital. Doctors said that his helmet 100% saved his life.
• After an immediate emergency surgery he was being evaluated minute-by-minute.
• After two nights he showed some unexpected improvement that allowed for a second surgery to remove a hematoma.
• There haven't been any updates after this other than to say he is critical but stable. There won't be any more medical updates until there is something to update people with.

Updates on the accident:
• He was skiing with a group of friends and family, including his 15 year old son.
• Schumi stopped to help a friend who had fallen get up, then started to ski across to another slope.
• In this deep snow he caught a ski on a hidden rock which flipped him over. When he landed it was head down on a rock.
• Multiple witnesses have all said that he wasn't going fast, just leisurely skiing. If the rock he hit hadn't been there he would have just hopped up and kept going.

Updates on fan support:
• Ferrari helped organize a vigil outside of the hospital for Schumacher's 45 birthday. A lot of people showed up.
• He's received letters and messages from fans, drivers, team bosses, and even heads of state.
• His immediate family has been at the hospital with him the whole time. He's had visits from brother Ralf and father Rolf as well. Olivier Panis lives near the hospital and tried to visit, but the ICU is family only.
• The Schumacher family has said that they are overwhelmed by the show of support and they have posted a message on his website of thanks.

All of this has reminded me that Michael and Ralf's mother died from a head injury after falling at home and hitting her head on a coffee table. It was the weekend of the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix and she passed away on race morning. The brothers dominated qualifying to take the front row for Ferrari and Williams, then flew to their childhood home in Cologne to be with their mom. She died the morning of the race and Michael and Ralf finished 1st and 4th respectively. There was no champaign on the podium, the brothers were excused from post-race interviews and they both dedicated their drive to their mother.

Hopefully Michael has a better outcome than his mom did, but we just need to wait and see now.

King Ginger, not writing for Business Insider > macshome 01/06/2014 at 12:47

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Thanks for the update; I haven't been following it as closely once I knew that the initial surgeries were complete.