Michael Schumacher in coma....

[SavVYute]

Some more news...still alive.

Doctors treating legendary Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher at Grenoble University Hospital in France have been forced to take the unusual step of publicly denying his death after a spate of rumors spread across international social media channels such as Twitter.

“The hospital denies that Michael Schumacher has died,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement, according to The Mirror in the U.K.
The seven-time world champion suffered serious brain and other injuries when he crashed into rocks while on a skiing vacation Dec. 29.

Doctors have spent more than a week slowly weaning Schumacher off anesthetic that has kept him in an induced coma and unconscious since shortly after the skiing mishap.

Schumacher is under 24-hour care, continues to receive food through a tube to his stomach, and is breathing with aid of a ventilator because he has been unable to breathe on his own.

While the weaning has gone as planned, doctors are particularly focused on making sure Schumacher does not contract pneumonia, which is a significant risk given that he cannot swallow on his own, allowing saliva to seep into his lungs and cause potential infection that could prove fatal.

“About 30 to 50 percent of all patients who lie in a coma as long as Michael Schumacher has get (pneumonia),” Andreas Pingel, medical director of the Centre for Spine Surgery and Neuro-Traumatology at BG Hospital in Germany told Focus Magazine.

The Mirror also reported Schumacher’s “blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood straight up at times to keep blood flowing. He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores and his urinary tract is under constant scrutiny because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing a potentially fatal infection.”

One bit of good news is that Schumacher’s age (45) and excellent physical condition will be a big help as his recovery continues. The biggest key is to eventually bring him out of the coma.

“(Schumacher’s brain cells will be) working together like a Formula One team,” neurosurgeon Dr. Munther Sabarini told The Mirror. “So if a driver shows weakness, then another driver takes over under the new situation. So it is with the brain cells.

“You can support brain function with a lot of resources so the healing process is accelerated and causes as little damage as possible. Typically high-energy bodily functions are shut down during a coma. Only after awakening can they be enabled again. The vital signs are observed and corrected.

“It is then up to the doctors to do a great deal; physiotherapy, mental care, treatment of new or old diseases. Depending on the aid required the patient receives medication – usually called neuro vitamins – but the measures applied vary strongly from case to case.

“After awakening one needs a few months to a few years to learn to overcome physical changes. Young and healthy people like Schumacher have better chances to recover from such a trauma.”

Friday’s news, the death rumors notwithstanding, was more positive than a Thursday report in The Mirror that claimed Schumacher could regress into a permanent vegetative state once he awakes from the induced coma.

“There is unfortunately the risk that in sneaking out of a deep artificial sleep the patient is then in a waking coma,” Hamburg professor Heinzpeter Moeck told The Mirror. “This could mean a permanent vegetative state where Schumacher would effectively be paralyzed.”

 

[SavVYute]

Comatose Michael Schumacher reportedly contracts lung infection | euronews,

There are some reports that he has now contracted a lung infection.

Michael Schumacher has contracted a lung infection while in a medically-induced coma at Grenoble hospital in France, the German daily newspaper Bild reports.

The former Formula 1 star has been hospitalised since an off-piste ski accident in the Alps on December 29. His head hit a rock in the fall, causing what doctors call a “severe” head trauma, requiring the German to be put in a medically-induced coma.

Bild claims, without quoting sources, that the consequences of the lung infection on the health of the 45-year-old are unpredictable.

Sabine Khem, Schumacher family’s spokesperson, told Bild she declined to comment on “speculation.”

At the end of January, Schumacher’s medical team had started a process to wake him up, although were unable to predict how long that would take. Doctor’s treating Schumacher have already had to deny some unfounded reports of his death on social media.

 

[SavVYute]

http://http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/the-times-sport/doctors-abandon-michael-schumacher-coma-plan/story-fniiw3ie-1226836785959#

Still in a comatose state. Not out of the woods yet.

Plans to bring seven-time world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher out of a coma have been abandoned. Source: AP
DOCTORS treating Michael Schumacher have abandoned their attempt to bring him out of a coma seven weeks after he suffered a blow to the head in an off-piste skiing accident.

No reason was given for the decision to call off the process but it follows reports a fortnight ago that the Formula One star had contracted pneumonia while in intensive care in the University Hospital of Grenoble in France.

Schumacher's family have not confirmed the latest claim, made in the German magazine Focus, but admitted in a statement ten days ago that “we are aware the wake up phase can take a long time”.

Doctors put the 45-year-old into an induced coma after the accident on December 29 to reduce brain swelling and give him a better chance of recovery.

Focus said that the attempt to bring him round was called off last week, leading brain injury experts to fear that Schumacher's chances of making a full recovery had decreased.

“It is generally accepted that the longer the period of the coma or reduced state of consciousness, the less likely it is to have a good longer term prognosis,” said Luke Gregg, a spokesman for Headway, the brain injury charity.

“This is particularly if they have tried to rouse the patient or bring them out of an induced coma and this has not happened.

“If a patient has been in a coma for seven weeks, I think it would be very unrealistic to suggest they will make a full recovery and be the exact same person they were before. But where there is life, there is hope, and we know there can be life after brain injury.”

Mr Gregg blamed Hollywood for giving people false expectations of a quick recovery from a coma.

“In the movies people wake up and say 'Hi, I'm back', but waking from a coma can take weeks,” he said.

“Put simply, the effects of brain injury can be devastating and last a lifetime. It can change every aspect of you: walking, talking, thinking and feeling.”

Only after 12 months without responding would a patient be diagnosed as being in an irreversible persistent vegetative state, he added.

The family issued a statement last Thursday that both they and Schumacher were drawing strength from the support of his fans and were determined not to give up.

“We are deeply touched by all the messages to get well soon for Michael which still are being sent from all over the world,” they said.

“This incredible support gives us and him strength.”

News of the setback comes after Felipe Massa, a friend and former F1 colleague, said he detected signs that Schumacher's lips moved when he spoke to him on a recent hospital visit.

“He was sleeping but looking quite normal — I think he even reacted a bit,” Massa said on Saturday.

The Times

 

[c2105026]

It has now been 2 months. The more time goes by, the more likely there will be permanent damage. Richard Hammond was under for 2 weeks before recovering from what it appears fully; but I wouldn't be surprised if he never comes out of it

 

[kingyinperth]

Yeh I tend to agree,it isn't looking good for Schuey..very sad.

 

[c2105026]

Well apparently family has been told it will take a 'miracle' for Scuhey to recover.

 

[kingyinperth]

hmm very sad..time is near to let the great man rest perhaps..

 

[minux]

Well apparently family has been told it will take a 'miracle' for Scuhey to recover.

7 hours ago:

“Michael is still in the wake up phase,” Kehm said in an official statement. “The situation has not changed. Any medical information published which is not confirmed by the team of doctors treating Michael or his management has to be considered as not valid.”

 

[SavVYute]

Michael Schumacher's wife building a 10 million pound medical suite at home

Ailing seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's wife is reportedly building a 10-million-pound medical suite at their home by Lake Geneva in Switzerland so that he can undergo treatment at home.

Corinna Schumacher is using the family's 500-million-pound fortune to build a suite equipped with high-tech medical facilities at their mansion, The Sun reported as Schumacher completes three months in hospital today.

Corinna has been at the 45-year-old's side throughout his stay but wants to take him home despite experts saying that he is unlikely to ever wake up.

The German ace has been in an artificially induced coma since December 29 after suffering serious brain injuries while skiing in the French Alps.

A friend of the family for 25 years said: "Miracles happen, of course, and as a wealthy man he has the best care money can buy.

But all the money in the world cannot fix what has happened to him. The family are making arrangements for a future of permanent immobility."

Earlier this week, Gary Hartstein, the former chief doctor of Formula One, warned fans to prepare for "really bad news."

Harstein wrote on his blog: "As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent.

And whereas I worried more than a bit about what was going to happen when and if really bad news got announced, I've realised that perhaps the lack of status updates has given us all a chance to move on a bit, to process what's happening, and to start to detach."

Ailing seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's wife is reportedly building a 10-million-pound medical suite at their home by Lake Geneva in Switzerland so that he can undergo treatment at home.

Corinna Schumacher is using the family's 500-million-pound fortune to build a suite equipped with high-tech medical facilities at their mansion, The Sun reported as Schumacher completes three months in hospital today.

Corinna has been at the 45-year-old's side throughout his stay but wants to take him home despite experts saying that he is unlikely to ever wake up.

The German ace has been in an artificially induced coma since December 29 after suffering serious brain injuries while skiing in the French Alps.

A friend of the family for 25 years said: "Miracles happen, of course, and as a wealthy man he has the best care money can buy.

But all the money in the world cannot fix what has happened to him. The family are making arrangements for a future of permanent immobility."

Earlier this week, Gary Hartstein, the former chief doctor of Formula One, warned fans to prepare for "really bad news."

Harstein wrote on his blog: "As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent.

And whereas I worried more than a bit about what was going to happen when and if really bad news got announced, I've realised that perhaps the lack of status updates has given us all a chance to move on a bit, to process what's happening, and to start to detach."

 

[c2105026]

I get the impression from above post that it's all over, and family is in denial? (If that's the case, I don't blame them...)