Schumacher in critical condition

['77Babe]

Press conference in 5 minutes....

['77Babe]

Not looking good. The doctors can't really say much yet, but from my interpretation, they are saying his brain will likely not fully recover.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by '77Babe

Not looking good. The doctors can't really say much yet, but from my interpretation, they are saying his brain will likely not fully recover.

[ApexOversteer]

The Telegraph had the best explanation of the injuries based on the press conference, that I could find...

Originally Posted by The Telegraph

Christopher Chandler, of the London Neurosurgery Partnership, has told the Press Association that the haematoma and bruising the F1 champion suffered could cause "ferocious swelling".

"An intra-cranial haematoma is a blood clot, which causes swelling and pressure on the brain," he said. "The scenario may be that he had a blood clot in his brain that required immediate removal, which would explain the surgery.

"By bilateral lesions, I suspect they mean contusions or bruising to the brain. That bruising of the brain, which you can see on a scan, causes ferocious swelling and that is really serious.

"(Cerebral) contusions are often the most significant injury. Once you remove the clot, the swelling carries on and bruising precipitates and propagates that swelling.

"If you have a brain injury with sufficient severity to cause a coma, that indicates a very serious situation. The longer a patient is in a coma, the less likely they are to make a full recovery.

"You can't say that they won't recover, and you can't say they won't be brain- damaged, but an injury such as bilateral bruising, which means on both sides of the brain, is very serious, and can be very dangerous.

"Brain swelling takes a number of days to reach its peak. The brain has a rigid unyielding box around it - the skull - which allows no room for growth, making swelling very, very dangerous.

"And once that injury occurs it's a vicious circle where a little bit of swelling causes more pressure, which causes more swelling, more pressure, and it starts to accelerate and affect vital parts of the brain.

"When that happens, you are in really deep trouble, but this man received probably the best possible care that you could imagine in the circumstances.

"He had the brain injury and within minutes a team of medics were there and they airlifted him to hospital. Within half an hour he was assessed and being flown to the neurological unit in Grenoble."

[VITE1]

[marrepka]

[onedef92]

Praying for him and his family.

[RED-85-Z51]

wasn't he the sting at one time...Or people thought he was?

[Cybercowboy]

Dang, I heard a tiny bit about this earlier while out and about and didn't figure out who it was. I'm going skiing next week in Park City, you can bet I'm wearing a helmet this time.

Best of luck to Mr. Schumacher.

Red slopes are equivalent to blacks in the USA?

[Joecooool]

Friend of mine fell off a jet ski last year and tore the membrane between her brain and skull. She was fine for a week before all of the sudden she was violently ill. Took two weeks to even diagnose what happened to her. Once they knew, they drew blood from her and shot it into her spine. That formed a "blood patch". Well, it was supposed to anyway, they had to do it a few times before it worked. Has she not had insurance, they would have just sent her home with aspirin and a "good luck!". Her week long stay in the ER ran over $200,000.

[ConstantChange]

Originally Posted by RED-85-Z51

wasn't he the sting at one time...Or people thought he was?

He was the Stig one time when they had the Ferrari FXX on the show. Ferrari wouldn't let the normal Stig drive it.

Whether he was the Stig on other shows is unknown, but also unlikely.

[Grey Ghost]

Originally Posted by RED-85-Z51

wasn't he the sting at one time...Or people thought he was?

No. It was an urban legend. He was the highest paid athlete for a few years. I saw him at the USGP at Indy a few times and I followed F1 religiously those years.

[Kerrmudgeon]

I watched the movie Rush last night, and this reminds me of James Hunt. He races all his life, only to retire as world Champion, and die of a heart attack at 45.

Prayers for full recovery Michael....

[JRD77VET]

Doctors give no prognosis for Michael Schumacher

GRENOBLE, France (AP) — Doctors offered a grim assessment of Michael Schumacher's head injuries Monday, providing no prognosis for the Formula One driving great after his skiing accident in the French Alps.

Schumacher has been placed in a medically induced coma to relieve pressure on his brain, which suffered bruising and bleeding when the retired seven-time world champion fell and struck a rock Sunday while skiing during a family vacation.

''We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher,'' Dr. Jean-Francois Payen, the doctor in charge of Grenoble University Hospital's intensive care unit, said at a news conference.

''He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation,'' said Payen, the chief anesthesiologist treating the 44-year-old German driver. ''We are working hour by hour.''

Schumacher's wife, Corinna, daughter Gina Maria and son Mick were at his bedside.

''The family is not doing very well, obviously. They are shocked,'' his manager, Sabine Kehm, told reporters.

Schumacher earned universal admiration for his uncommon driving talent, which led to a record 91 race wins. His single-minded dedication to victory sometimes meant he was denied the same affection during his career that he received Monday.

Schumacher ''gave the image of someone indestructible, powerful,'' France's four-time F1 champion Alain Prost said on iTele TV channel. ''It's a banal accident compared to what he's done in the past . It's just a dumb thing that ended badly.''

Schumacher and his 14-year-old son were skiing Sunday morning in the French Alpine resort of Meribel, where the family has a chalet. He fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock.

By wearing a helmet, Schumacher had given himself a chance of survival, Payen said, though the protection was not enough to prevent serious injury.

Gerard Saillant, a trauma surgeon who operated on Schumacher when he broke his leg in a 1999 race crash, was at the hospital as a visitor. He told reporters that Schumacher's age and fitness should work in his favor.

Schumacher, who turns 45 on Friday, retired from the track for the second time only last year, after a three-season comeback.

Still, the hospital's neurology team, which is recognized as among the best in France, was cautious about Schumacher's prospects.

Doctors lowered his body temperature to between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius (93.2 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit) as part of the coma, which essentially rests the brain, slowing its metabolism to help reduce inflammation after an injury.

The hospital, in a city that is the gateway to the French Alps, sees a large number of skiing accidents every year.

Schumacher has been seriously hurt before. In addition to the broken leg in a crash at the 1999 British Grand Prix, he also suffered neck and spine injuries after a motorcycle accident in 2009 in Spain.

An expert skier, Schumacher fell in a section of trails that slice down through a vast and, in parts, very steep snowfield. Although challenging, the snowfield is not extreme skiing. The runs are broad and neatly tended, and the ungroomed area in between - where the resort said Schumacher was found - is free of trees.

''He was in the deep snow. But it was not an off-piste track,'' Kehm said, suggesting Schumacher had not taken undue risks. ''They were skiing on pistes, but in the moment that it (the accident) happened, it was not on the piste.''

Meribel resort officials said Schumacher was conscious when first responders arrived, although agitated and in shock.

After the fall, Payen said Monday, Schumacher was not in a ''normal state of consciousness.'' He did not respond to questions, and his limbs appeared to move involuntarily, the doctor said.

He was airlifted to a local hospital and then later brought to Grenoble. Doctors said that stopover was typical and did not affect his condition.

The French prosecutor in Albertville has opened an investigation into the accident, according to the Mountain Gendarmerie in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. The goal is to determine the circumstances and cause of the accident.

Formula One drivers and fans rushed to wish Schumacher a quick recovery.

''Like millions of Germans, the chancellor and members of the government were extremely dismayed when they heard about Michael Schumacher's serious skiing accident,'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Berlin.

Sebastian Vettel, the Formula One racer for whom Schumacher was a boyhood idol, told German news agency dpa: ''I am shocked and hope that he will get better as soon as possible.''

Ferrari, which Schumacher raced for, also expressed its concern. Company President Luca di Montezemolo and race team leader Stefano Domenicali were in contact with the family, the company said in a statement.

Former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who himself recovered from life-threatening head injuries 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.''

British former F1 champion Jenson Button posted that ''Michael more than anyone has the strength to pull through this.''

Some fans gathered outside the hospital Monday.

Nuravil Raimbekov, a student from Kyrgyzstan who is studying in Grenoble, said Schumacher has been an inspiration to him.

''I'm worried, of course ... But I still hope, and I will pray for him,'' he said.

During his career, Schumacher set an array of Formula One records. After initial success with the Benetton team, winning his first two championships in 1994 and 1995, Schumacher moved to Ferrari.

There, he helped turn the storied Italian team into the sport's dominant force. After initially retiring in 2006, he made a comeback in 2010 and raced for three years with Mercedes.
Doctors give no prognosis for Michael Schumacher | Comcast
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[Cybercowboy]

That does not sound good at all.

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

That does not sound good at all.

There is one kernel of good in the medical update; He had not required a second surgery as of that point.

[stingraymyway]

Prayers mang.

[Kerrmudgeon]

I've got to wonder if previous impacts to the head from accidents have made this worse than it should have been. Like boxers and hockey and football players that are told one more concussion or impact may be fatal. Sometimes they don't even know about previous brain injuries, it's such a difficult to diagnose area,
???

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Michael Schumacher has had a "slight improvement" in his condition after a 2nd operation on Monday night, doctors say.

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Michael Schumacher has had a "slight improvement" in his condition after a 2nd operation on Monday night, doctors say.

This is where keeping us in the dark falls down. "Improvement" from what, exactly? He's in a better induced coma now?