ONE month after his skiing accident in the French alps, a French newspaper has claimed that Michael Schumacher is being brought out of a medically-induced coma. The 45-year-old former Formula 1 champion struck his head on a rock while skiing with his son on 29 December and has remained in a coma ever since. Though the last official communique from his management said the seven-time F1 champion was "stable", there have been fears he will never regain consciousness. However, the
Daily Telegraph quotes a story in L'Equipe that claims the German ace is slowly being brough out of the coma by doctors at the University Hospital of Grenoble in France. Schumacher’s spokeswoman asked the public not to pay attention to “speculation” but did not deny the report, the Telegraph says. In its report, L'Equipe says Schumacher has "reacted postively" to doctors' efforts to bring him out of the coma. The paper quotes Professor Jean-Luc Truelle, the former head of the neurology department of the Foch hospital in Suresnes, who says that a month is upper limit of when a patient can be awoken safely from an artificial coma. L'Equipe's story conflicts with a report in today's Rheinische Post newspaper that suggests doctors have delayed efforts to bring Schumacher out of his coma. The paper says the rumoured delay raises new fears about the driver's chances of recovery. It quotes a medical expert who says the longer that he "cannot be resuscitated from the medically induced coma the doubts are more justified than ever that he will not be completely healthy. Probably he will have sustained permanent damage." The paper adds that even if Schumacher does come out of his coma the best case scenario is that "a long neurological rehabilitation awaits him". The
BBC offers a similarly gloomy prognosis having sought the advice of two medical experts. Professor Gary Hartstein, F1's chief medic between 2005 and 2012, told the BBC that "it is extremely unlikely, and I'd honestly say virtually impossible, that the Michael we knew prior to this fall will ever be back". Colin Shieff, neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, said: "It is still possible to regain consciousness, but this is far from certain. At best, there will be handicaps in respect of communication, memory, mobility and independence. At worst, the patient may remain in 'low arousal state' with little awareness of surroundings." For further concise, balanced comment and analysis on the week's news, try The Week magazine.
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ONE month after his skiing accident in the French alps, a French newspaper has claimed that Michael Schumacher is being brought out of a medically-induced coma. The 45-year-old former Formula 1 champion struck his head on a rock while skiing with his son on 29 December and has remained in a coma ever since. Though the last official communique from his management said the seven-time F1 champion was "stable", there have been fears he will never regain consciousness. However, the Daily Telegraph quotes a story in L'Equipe that claims the German ace is slowly being brough out of the coma by doctors at the University Hospital of Grenoble in France. Schumacher’s spokeswoman asked the public not to pay attention to “speculation” but did not deny the report, the Telegraph says. In its report, L'Equipe says Schumacher has "reacted postively" to doctors' efforts to bring him out of the coma. The paper quotes Professor Jean-Luc Truelle, the former head of the neurology department of the Foch hospital in Suresnes, who says that a month is upper limit of when a patient can be awoken safely from an artificial coma. L'Equipe's story conflicts with a report in today's Rheinische Post newspaper that suggests doctors have delayed efforts to bring Schumacher out of his coma. The paper says the rumoured delay raises new fears about the driver's chances of recovery. It quotes a medical expert who says the longer that he "cannot be resuscitated from the medically induced coma the doubts are more justified than ever that he will not be completely healthy. Probably he will have sustained permanent damage." The paper adds that even if Schumacher does come out of his coma the best case scenario is that "a long neurological rehabilitation awaits him". The BBC offers a similarly gloomy prognosis having sought the advice of two medical experts. Professor Gary Hartstein, F1's chief medic between 2005 and 2012, told the BBC that "it is extremely unlikely, and I'd honestly say virtually impossible, that the Michael we knew prior to this fall will ever be back". Colin Shieff, neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, said: "It is still possible to regain consciousness, but this is far from certain. At best, there will be handicaps in respect of communication, memory, mobility and independence. At worst, the patient may remain in 'low arousal state' with little awareness of surroundings." For further concise, balanced comment and analysis on the week's news, try The Week magazine.Subscribe today and get 6 issues completely free. Source: Article
