Complete chronology of tragedy and rehabilitation.
On December 29, 2013, a great tragedy occurred: seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in the French Alps.
Since then, there has been almost no official information about his health: the family of the great racer is trying their best not to make the situation public. The Red Baron's wife Corinna only allows a few people (for example, former Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer, former Scuderia head Jean Todt and the legend's former teammate Felipe Massa) to visit her husband more or less regularly - otherwise, Schumi's health news is literally meaning a moratorium has been imposed.
“We do not consider Michael’s health a public topic and will continue to refrain from commenting on this matter,” Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kem harshly snapped several years ago. “We must protect his privacy, and any statement about his health would be an invasion of it.”
She wasn’t joking: according to the major Italian publication Autosprint, Kem has been doing his best to block any publications about the health of the seven-time champion since 2014.
“The silence in the media is surprising, especially in Germany and Switzerland, because they should have direct sources. The explanation lies in the actions of manager Sabine Kehm, who systematically sends out legal letters threatening legal action if information about the health of the German racer is disseminated, the publication said in 2015. “The medical staff caring for Schumacher at home have signed a number of confidentiality agreements.”
In conditions of such information hunger, the desire to get to the bottom of the truth only increases - it is not surprising that the number of search queries on Google about Michael’s health has exceeded a trillion. The fertile ground of enormous interest provokes rumors of varying levels of reliability, so we have collected all the currently known facts about the health of the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1.
Has Schumacher started walking? What is known about Michael's five-year battle with a head injury?
Injury
Exactly five years ago, on December 29, 2013, Michael Schumacher was in the worst accident of his life. The seven-time Formula 1 champion was peacefully skiing on a ski slope in the French Alps. Then, for some reason, Michael drove off the paved path, drove off a couple of tens of meters, tripped and hit his head on a stone as he fell.
The impact split the helmet on the driver's head. At first, Michael was conscious, but a detected brain hemorrhage forced doctors to put him into an artificial coma. A month later, Schumacher began to be gradually brought out of his coma. Tired of the attention of the press, the racer's family limited access to him. In March, Michael's manager Sabine Kem said that the recovery from the coma was not yet complete. And in June, Michael was taken to a family mansion on Lake Geneva. What happened next is unknown to the public.
Gossip
According to the first reports, Michael could neither walk nor speak, did not recognize his loved ones and showed no hope of recovery. However, no one confirmed these rumors. The Schumacher family asked for peace and quiet from journalists. Access to Michael was finally blocked after one of the paparazzi tried to fly a drone to the racer’s house.
All attempts by journalists to find out about Michael’s condition were stopped. In 2020, the German magazine Bunte wrote that Schumacher is walking again. For this, the journalists received a lawsuit from Michael’s family, which in 2020 resulted in a fine for the publication in the amount of €50 thousand.
Further, all information was limited to rare and empty comments from Michael’s loved ones and abundant rumors in not the most clean publications. In particular, the English Mirror wrote that Schumacher remains in a coma and “sends signals from a distant world” to his family. Information about the coma and the difficult situation in 2020 was repeated by the Romanian (!) media.
One of the wildest reliable stories was the extortion of money from Michael’s wife Corinna. The attacker demanded €900 thousand, threatening otherwise to kill the racer's children - Mick and Gina Maria. At the same time, he wanted to receive the money into the account, the number of which he helpfully left in the email. The guy didn’t even have the sense to send someone else’s bill, so he was quickly identified using this number.
Hopes
The first positive news began to arrive towards the end of 2018. First, FIA President Jean Todt admitted that he watched the Brazilian Grand Prix with Michael in November. Careful in his words, Todt did not specify what condition the driver was in. But the fact of watching it together has already refuted rumors that Michael fell into a coma again.
And in mid-December, the British Daily Mail bombshelled. The publication reported that Schumacher is not only not in a coma, but also no longer needs life-sustaining devices, and is also not bedridden. The publication did not specify whether Michael walks or uses a wheelchair. The source added that rumors about a hospital specially built for Schumacher near the house turned out to be incorrect. At least now the Red Baron lives in the house with his family.
On January 3, 2020, Schumacher will turn 50 years old. In honor of this, Ferrari will dedicate a special exhibition to the driver in its museum. Two mobile applications will also be released: Schumacher. The Official App will become a virtual museum of the racer, and the Schumoji App will give fans emojis with Michael and his son Mick.
Positive news about Michael has not been received in such quantity (two in a month) since the injury. And if they turn out to be true, maybe we'll see Schumi in public again in 2020. Let's hope for a New Year and anniversary miracle.
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Michael Schumacher's serious injury and long recovery
The accident occurred in December 2013, when the ex-F1 driver was on vacation with his family in the Alps. While skiing down the mountain, he went off-piste and then tripped over a rock, hitting his head on a rock ledge. The blow was so strong that the protective helmet broke.
Michael underwent two neurosurgical operations, followed by an artificial coma, in which the athlete remained for a very long time.
In September 2014, it became known that Michael’s rehabilitation course would take place at home, where everything was equipped for this. From that moment on, there were almost no statements from officials regarding Schumacher's condition, and those that were were of a very superficial nature.
In October 2020, for example, his old friend Jean Todt, with whom they once made history together at Ferrari, churning out championship titles, once mentioned something about Schumacher. The man said that he visits Michael at least twice a month, sometimes they even watch the races together. But, speaking about the state of the great athlete, he notes that he wants a completely different situation.
Latest news about Michael Schumacher's health
At the end of 2020, on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the tragedy that happened to Schumacher, Corinna broke the silence and made a public statement.
“Big things start with small steps. Sometimes, small details can form the big picture. I think that together we have become stronger. So this is how the combined efforts of the movement in support of Michael help make the task of encouraging others easier,” said Schumacher.
Let's hope that in this way she hinted at an improvement in her husband's condition.
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Author: Tina Lipnitskaya
At the end of 2013, the whole world was shocked by the news of a tragic accident that occurred in the French ski resort of Meribel, as a result of which seven-time Formula 1 champion, king of speed Michael Schumacher received a severe traumatic brain injury. The athlete was saved from death by a helmet that cracked when hit by a rock. Doctors at the Grenoble clinic, where the famous racer was taken already in an unconscious state, reported two neurosurgical operations and an artificial coma into which the famous patient was introduced.
In 2014, neurosurgeon Eric Riederer suggested that an athlete would never be able to completely get rid of the consequences of an injury and that he would probably face lifelong disability. One cannot expect that an injury of such complexity will pass without a trace, the Swiss surgeon said, noting that it will be difficult for Michael to adapt to the new realities of life, in which he will not be able to cope without outside help.
Over the next few years, both doctors and family members refrained from making any comments about the racer's physical condition. Since 2020, it has been known that Michael is undergoing intensive rehabilitation at his own estate in Switzerland, but no reliable information has been received from family members or officials about how the famous German athlete is feeling in the media.
Many Formula 1 stars tried to make money from a personal tragedy; for example, when transporting Schumi from France to Switzerland, a package of documents with photographs, test results and research was stolen. The kidnapper turned out to be an employee of an airline company who tried to sell documents to the media, but was arrested and committed suicide in a holding cell. The paparazzi besieged the Swiss estate of the Schumacher family, hoping to get a photo of the athlete confined to a wheelchair. It is known that a certain person with access to the mansion was actually able to take several photos of the racer, but the family prevented publications that could harm Schumacher’s emotional and physical state.
In December 2020, Corinna Schumacher broke her silence and finally issued a statement in which she said that the recovery process was continuing well and that Michael’s loved ones were doing everything possible to help him recover from his injury. The racer’s wife also noted that maintaining confidentiality is, first of all, the desire of Michael himself, who has always been scrupulous about the details of his personal life. Corinna Schumacher and the athlete's official representative thanked fans for their understanding, loyalty and support.
The Daily Mail reported that the athlete spent his anniversary and New Year's holidays with his family in Spain, and although the recovery process cannot be considered complete, he can already move independently and communicate with his family.
On September 10, 2020, the famous German underwent surgery to introduce stem cells in a clinic in France. According to the French publication Le Parisien, Schumacher came to his senses after the operation. The nurse assured reporters that he was conscious.
Latest news about Michael Schumacher.
The condition of the famous racer is improving 4.8 (96%) 5 votes
The role of Corinne Schumacher
The racer's wife is always next to her husband. Many of Schumacher's friends accuse her of being overprotective, since she practically does not let anyone near Michael. Any information about the athlete’s health status is kept in the strictest confidence. Any publications in the press are refuted, and lawsuits are filed against publications for libel. Since 2013, not a single new photo of the athlete has leaked onto the Internet.
In 2020, Michael’s relatives stopped denying information that the racer was conscious and in contact with others.
At the beginning of 2020, the Schumacher family issued a statement that Michael was in good hands and was receiving all possible help.
“You can be sure that he is in the best hands and that we are doing everything we can to help him,” a quote from the Schumacher family’s last statement, made in January 2020.
News today about Michael Schumacher's condition
Trouble happened to Michael Schumacher at the end of 2013: together with his son and his friends, the athlete was vacationing at a ski resort in the Alps. While descending the highway, he went a little off course and hit a rock. During the fall, the rider ran into a rock and hit his head on it: the helmet split, and the athlete received a serious head injury. Doctors who arrived at the scene of the tragedy took Michael Schumacher to a helicopter for further hospitalization, but his condition deteriorated sharply. Doctors urgently put him into a medically induced coma, but the athlete came out of it six months later, that is, in the summer of 2014. Today he continues to undergo recovery and intensive treatment.
The latest media news indicates that Michael Schumacher is gradually coming to his senses and recovering. However, there is still no official comment from his family. A number of sources provided false information about the athlete’s health, so his wife Corinna was forced to make a statement.
Corinna let slip that not to declassify the condition of Michael Schumacher is the desire of the racer himself. Corinna added that her famous husband is under the supervision of highly qualified doctors. Also, his strongest support remains his children - 22-year-old daughter Gina-Marie and 22-year-old son Mick.
“He is now in good hands and we are doing everything we can to help him.” You can be sure of this. Try to understand that Michael's desire is to maintain confidentiality and we are guided by this. I'm sure he would do the same for me. “I will always remember who I should be grateful to,” said Corinna Schumacher.
Corinna commented on her husband's condition after his former manager Willi Weber told reporters that he was banned from seeing the racer. Willi Weber suggests that the family does not trust him, is hiding something and is afraid that he will not say anything unnecessary to the press.
“I know that Michael suffered greatly, but unfortunately, I do not have any information about how he feels now and how he is recovering. I would like to know about this, to shake his hand, but Corinna rejects all this. She’s probably afraid that I’ll immediately understand what’s going on and reveal the truth,” said Willi Weber.
The news that Michael Schumacher was treated with stem cells in France is not true.
Just a fantasy and nothing more
Looking at the primary source of information about Schumacher’s second coma, one cannot even call it rumors! Okay, from time to time guesses and conjectures arise, like the recent report by the German magazine Bravo about the continuation of Michael’s treatment in one of the US clinics. Yes, the source is also dubious - an entertainment publication for readers aged 14 to 20. But what the Romanian journalists did defies any explanation. Yes, yes, this is not a typo, the latest information providers are Romanian! Where do they get the inside scoop about what’s happening with Michael, who is thousands of kilometers away in Switzerland? It’s a rhetorical question.
At the same time, it is not possible to determine the original source of the “news”. Many of our domestic publications refer to the Romanian version of AutoBild magazine, but that, in turn, nods to the local Gandul with almost identical text and... the Colombian newspaper Las 2 Orillas!
Let's start with the Colombians: information about a critical decrease in weight and height, as well as connection to a ventilator, belongs to them. But the publication was made on April 30. It turns out that Michael has been connected to a ventilator for six months? Even the mortally injured Jules Bianchi only breathed with assistance for seven days after the accident. Agree, if everything was so bad, then it would not only be reported by some Romanian and Colombian media.
The text of the article is generally full of contradictions: literally one sentence after the message about connecting to a ventilator, it tells how Michael’s wife is trying to take him to the garden next to the house on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Although what else could you expect from a Colombian newspaper, moreover, founded only four years ago?
The fact that Schumacher had seriously lost weight was reported back in the fall of 2020 by the German publication Bunte, against which the family of the German racer subsequently filed a lawsuit. There was not a word about a decrease in growth then, and even doctors do not believe the Las 2 Orillas figures from April 30.
“A bedridden patient can lose 30 kilograms of weight, but cannot lose 14 centimeters in height,” Lenta.ru quotes the specialist as saying. “Only a slight loss of height, up to five centimeters, is possible due to a decrease in the height of the intervertebral discs.” This means that if you can believe anything in the long-outdated Las 2 Orillas message, it’s only information about weight, first announced by a completely different publication.
But the “insight” from the Romanian publication Gandul looks even more absurd, which begins with information about height and weight with reference to the Spanish (so the text says) Las 2 Orillas. Next comes a mention of Schumacher’s possible transportation to the United States and a quote from the Schumacher family’s lawyer from the court hearing against Bunte in September 2016, when more or less official information was announced: “Michael Schumacher cannot walk or even stand without the help of specialists.”
And immediately after this, the Romanian publication quotes the words of a certain family member about a coma and the struggle for life, adding that this was said at the same trial! But while the lawyer’s quote was quoted in many international media, for some reason the relative’s statement surfaced for the first time...
The Schumacher family stopped communicating with the press in mid-June 2014, when Michael emerged from a coma and was discharged from the hospital in Grenoble, where he had been for six months after the incident. Considering the general context, if such a statement could have been made, it would have been only in the first days after the tragedy, when Schumacher’s condition was critical.
In the end, judging by the final part of the Gandul “news”, Michael is still at home, and the above statement seems to talk about visiting him in the hospital. It turns out to be nonsense: a person is in a coma, on the verge of life and death, breathing with the help of a ventilator and at the same time being at home!
