Almost one year ago, on December 29, 2013, seven-time Formula 1 winner Michael Schumacher suffered a devastating accident while on a ski trip in the French Alps. According to the Mail Online, Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm , has stated this week that "it was 'not possible' to say how long it would take for Schumacher to fully recover".
Kehm further stated that Schumacher "faced a 'difficult' and 'long' rehabilitation". The accident was after Schumacher was skiing and struck a partially covered rock. Schumaker then lost control and crashed into another rock, shattering his helmet. He actually had a camera attached to his helmet that caught the footage of this collision, and it has been analyzed to show that the injury was indeed an accident. This accident caused a lot of brain damage as well as a coma that he awoke from on April 4, 2014, a process of reawakening that actually began in January of that year.
A French doctor treating Schumacher said that the 45-year-old German driver was making progress, but recovery will take approximately one to three years. Schumacher's current state is in a wheelchair, and he has memory problems and is unable to speak. This is the testimony of former racing driver Philippe Streiff, who has visited Schumacher in his injured state, he is quoted as saying that Schumacher "is getting better but everything is relative".
Earlier this month, the official Michael Schumacher website was relaunched in order to mark the 20th anniversary of the driver's first world championship. The site provides visitors a place to send messages to his wife and family called "How to Wish Michael Well". Visitors can leave a personalized message by adding a hashtag of #keepfightingmichael to their tweets, which might take a while before it appears on the official site. The rest of the official Michael Schumaker site is devoted to stories of him as a racing legend.
Ms. Kehm reports that Schumacher's family is "very happy and touched by the sympathetic messages" and that "positive energy does them good". Schumacher's family was center ring of a media circus, with the report of one journalist disguising himself as a priest to get access to Schumacher's bedside. Ms. Kehm reports that the "situation on the whole has calmed", but Schumacher's wife Corinna has been by her husband's side as much as she can. The family, who has been provided for by Schumacher's earnings of over half a billion pounds, have access to numerous physiotherapists, doctors, nutritionists, and neurological experts.
The situation with Michael is one of hope, but it might take a while before the healing takes full effect.
