“The fact he was in a coma for so long … we can assume that he has had
quite a bad injury. People don’t tend to make a full recovery from that sort
of injury.”
15.25 Dr Ganesh Bavikatte, a consultant and clinical lead in
neuro-rehabilitation medicine at The Walton Centre in Liverpool, has warned
that the road to recovery for Schumacher will be a long one, make no
mistake.
In his article for Telegraph Sport he
writes the following:
We are not talking about recovery in days and weeks, but months and years.
But there are hopeful signs. He is physically fit, he is relatively young
and I assume that he did not have many pre-existing medical conditions.
Psychologically, people who are very driven and who are focused on
achievement often do better in physiotherapy. I always say there are two
stages to recovery after severe traumatic brain injury. The first is saving
life and the second is achieving quality of life.
This will be a difficult task and it could be made more difficult by the
fact he is a high achiever who will have high ambition and set himself high
targets.
The major thing is that this is a long drawn process and support is needed
not just for him but for his family as well. It’s an uncertain journey ahead.
15.15 More on that story about Germany wanting to win the World Cup for
Michael Schumacher: read
more here.
14.15 Below is the University Hospital of the Canton of Vaud (CHUV), in
Lausanne, pictured on Monday. It is understood that this is where Michael
Schumacher has been moved to.
The facility is about 20 miles from the home of the seven-time F1 champion. He
lives in a mansion worth £50 million on the shores of Lake Geneva with his
devoted wife Corinna and their teenage children Mick and Gina Marie.
It is not known whether Schumacher is breathing spontaneously but it is
believed that he will continue to be fed intravenously for some time to
come. No detailed information was given on his condition or the form of his
on-going treatment.
13.55 Nice touch from Lucas Podolski again, as the German
forward has revealed that they are trying to win the World Cup for him. He
told Bild: “Michael Schumacher is as crazy about football as we all are.
“Unfortunately he is not doing so well … the team and I continue to
wish his family strength,” said the Arsenal attacker. “We hope he
will be back on his feet soon and eventually he will be able to see one of
our matches.
“If we win the World Cup then it is something which could give him some
joy.”
13.41 It is now 170 days since Schumacher hit his head while skiing in
Meribel. And now reports in Germany have suggested that he can communicate
with wife Corinna, 45, 17-year-old daughter Gina Marie and son Mick, 14.
The German is believed to have lost a quarter of his body weight since the
accident and has had his muscles and joints massaged daily since he was
placed in intensive care following being airlifted from the crash site.
13.30 And here is a picture from January 3, which was the German
driver’s 45th birthday. All the messages of support helped, Schumi’s
manager, Sabine Kehm, stated this morning.
13.25 Fernando Alonso, who battled with Schumi on the track for many
years, had this to tweet at the news:
13.15 So what do we know? Michael Schumacher is out of his coma; the
seven-time world champion is communicating with his wife and children; and
he has been moved from Grenoble to University Hospital of Lausanne. Also, as
his manager has said, “further rehabilitation will take place away from
the public eye”.
More tributes have been pouring in, with most noting the irony that the
football-mad F1 legend has woken up in time for Germany’s Group G opener on
Monday night, against Portugal.
13.05 Hello, I’m Oliver Pickup, and I’m now taking over from
Barney in the live blog hot seat.
12.55 Germany and Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski tweets:
12.52 University Hospital of Lausanne spokesman, Darcy Christen
quoted as saying to Swiss news agency SDA:
The family are in a separate part of the hopsital where their privacy can be
best protected and where Schumacher can obtain the highjest level of care.
12.48 Gary Hartstein, the former
F1 doctor, writes:
I cannot but think that if Michael had emerged AT ALL from the minimally
conscious state that Sabine so accurately described in April, we’d be told
that Michael is leaving for rehab, that he is having problems expressing
himself and will work hard to get better. Or that he’s having to learn to
walk,read, write, etc all over again. But no, we’re told what we already
know, and pretty much told to not ever expect further updates. Kinda like
what I was thinking.
This all leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. And a huge space of sadness
for Michael’s family, and for you, his fans.
12.40 Germany’s Spiegel newspaper reports a special room has
been set up at the University Hospital of Lausanne to provide Schumacher
with the treatment he requires.
12.27 Jake Humphrey tweets:
12.28 Rio Ferdinand tweets:
12.17 Spokesman at University Hospital of Lausanne has confirmed
that Schumacher has been admitted.
“He is here, he arrived this morning,” Darcy Christen, spokesman for
the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), told Reuters.
Christen declined to say what unit Schumacher, who lives with his family in a
town between Lausanne and Geneva, he was being treated in, citing medical
secrecy and family privacy.
12.07 Daniel Johnson, The Telegraph’s F1 Correspondent, reports:
Michael Schumacher’s last team in Formula One, Mercedes, led the chorus of
positive messages for the seven-time champion on Monday after his family
confirmed he is no longer in a coma and has left intensive care.
The German F1 legend returned to the sport with Mercedes in 2010, before
retiring for a second time at the end of 2012.
Force India tweeted:
Mexican driver Esteban Guttierez, who races for Sauber, said:
Giedo van der Garde, a reserve driver for Sauber who raced with Caterham in
2013, added: “Michael Schumacher no longer in a coma and left the hospital!
What a great news! Wish him a speedy recovery.”
11.46 Tony Paterson in Berlin has this on Schumacher’s current
whereabouts:
Bild Zeitung [the German newspaper] reports that there are “rumours”
that Schumacher has been transferred to a rehabilitation clinic in
Switzerland. However Sabine Kehm, his manager has stated expressly that no
information about the injured driver’s wherabouts will be made public.
11.37 Michael Schumacher has been moved to a hospital in Lausanne,
Switzerland, after coming out of his coma, according to an unnamed official
cited by AFP.
11.26 Schumacher had been in a medically induced coma in
Grenoble, France, since being badly injured in a ski accident on December 29
in the French resort of Meribel with his son and friends. The 45-year-old
struck his head on a rock while skiing off-piste.
Michael Schumacher on a skiing trip with his wife Corinna
11.22 Tony Paterson reports from Berlin:
Germany’s Bild Zeitung reports that Schumacher opens his eyes during “waking
phases”. He can communicate with those around him, especially with his
wife, Corinna and their children.
The paper says he no longer needs the help of Grenoble university hopsital
doctors and that he is to be moved to a rehabiltation clinic.
11.11 Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, said in the statement:
Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of
rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore.
His family would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses
and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the
accident, who did an excellent job in those first months.
The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all
the many good wishes to Michael. We are sure it helped him.
For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation
will take place away from the public eye.
11.10 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the news that Michael
Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has left the French hospital where he
was being treated since a skiing accident in December 2013.