Scarce information has been made public about the health of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher ever since he suffered a life-changing skiing injury almost a decade ago.
It is largely believed that Schumacher is not in the best of shape as of now and still requires intense medical supervision.
However, minutes following his head injury while skiing in the alps, Michael was reportedly conscious and speaking with complete comprehension of what was happening around him.
After that, Schumacher was placed into a medically-induced coma for weeks and was subsequently in the hospital for months.
Currently, he is believed to be in his family home in Geneva and owing to his inherent desire to keep his private life away from the eyes of the media, there is not much information on how he is doing.
Resort managers of the place where Schumacher initially got injured have stated that the German was fully aware of what had happened and spoke freely about how he injured himself.
However, the effects of the injury began to soon take effect as he lost consciousness.
Gary Hartstein, a former F1 trackside doctor, has explained what Schumacher is likeliest to have experienced.
“It’s quite well known that extradural haematomas, a kind of cerebral haemorrhage, can leave a lucid interval after injury,” he told Sky News.
“Then as the haematoma forms, the increase in pressure causes sudden and dramatic symptoms. Pressure must be relieved rapidly.”
Reputed journalist Roger Benoit, who is also close to the Schumacher family, issued a rare update about Michael’s health this week.
Long-time F1 enthusiasts may feel that name is familiar owing to the stocks of photos of him alongside Schumacher smoking cigars and generally just having a good time.
Benoit had also famously gifted Schumacher the yellow Benetton overalls in which he secured his maiden F1 win at Spa in 1992.
Benoit was asked if he can provide some sort of an update on Michael’s health, and his answer is likely to cause agony to fans of the mercurial German driver.
“No. There is only one answer to this question,” he said.
“That is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022.”
“The sentence he said says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3,500 days. A case without hope.”
The interview Benoit was referring to was based on an insight provided by Mick, Michael’s son, during the Netflix docuseries Driver to Survive.
“‘I would give anything to talk to dad’,” Mick had said on Drive to Survive.
“I think dad and me, we would understand each other in a different way. Simply because we speak a similar language – the language of motorsport.”
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