Michael Schumacher, 44, the record-holding, seven-time World Champion in Formula 1 racing, is in a coma following a serious skiing accident in France on Sunday. He apparently slammed his head on a rock after a fall while skiing with his 14-year-old son. A helicopter flew him to the nearest hospital, but he was later airlifted to Grenoble, where there is a special trauma unit.
Messages of support to his family having been pouring in from around the world. A prognosis has not been issued by the physicians caring for him - they are taking it hour by hour.
Michael Schumacher remains in a critical condition and fighting for his life after sustaining serious head injuries in an off-piste skiing accident at a resort in the French Alps, French doctors have said.
At a press conference in Grenoble, doctors said he was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and had to be operated on immediately. They said his condition remained "extremely serious" and he was being kept in an artificial coma, but that it was too early to give an accurate prognosis.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
At a press conference this morning, in Grenoble, doctors said he had suffered many lesions to his brain and his prognosis was unclear.
Surgeons operated to remove a blood clot in his brain and are now trying to reduce "dangerous swelling", meaning his condition could go either way.
The hospital revealed that Schumacher was being kept in a state of hyperthermia by controlling his temperature to keep it at 34C-35C (93.2F-95F).
http://news.sky.com/...
What many people may not know about him, is that he has been very active in charitable causes and other good works:
Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated 1.5 million Euros to the organization.[182] Additionally, he paid for the construction of a school for poor children and for area improvements in Dakar, Senegal. He supports a hospital for child victims of war in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees. In Lima, Peru he funded the "Palace for the Poor", a centre for helping homeless street children obtain an education, clothing, food, medical attention, and shelter. He stated his interest in these various efforts was piqued both by his love for children and the fact that these causes had received little attention. While an exact figure for the amount of money he has donated throughout his life is unknown, it is known that in his last four years as a driver, he donated at least $50 million.[11] In 2008, it was revealed that he had donated between $5M and $10M to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park of Bill Clinton.[183]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Sending good wishes and thoughts to him and his family. I'm not a huge sports fan, but because I live in Germany, it's a pretty big deal here. Besides, it's always sad to hear of anyone suffering this kind of accident, especially when he himself is still quite young and has school-aged children.
9:37 AM PT: Update: Thanks, all, for putting this on the Rec List. First time for me and I'm honored, though I'm sorry it's for this message of unfortunate news.
9:48 AM PT: Heh, not even 15 minutes, but I swear it was there for at least a few seconds! Maybe even too fast for the "Recommended" auto-tag. Just as well, in view of the "scuffle" early on.