Michael Schumacher is a 7-time Formula 1 champion. After he retired from Ferrari, he returned to the sport with the Mercedes F1 team. He drove for the team for another 3 years until he retired for the final time. Schumacher has had a dominating career and at the same time raised a wonderful family with 2 children.
One year after he retired, on 29 December 2013, Michael Schumacher went skiing with his son Mick Schumacher in the French Alps. He used to go skiing regularly with his family. However, this time he had an accident that affected his and his family’s life greatly.
Ever since the accident, Schumacher’s family has not spoken much to the media regarding his condition. They have maintained a high level of privacy concerning the health of the German driver.
On December 29, 2013, Michael Schumacher and his son went skiing in the French Alps. While Michael Schumacher was coming down from the Combe de Saulire below the Dent de Burgin, he lost his balance and hit his head on a rock. Although he was wearing a skiing helmet, the impact on his head was severe.
Soon after the accident, paramedics arrived on the scene and Schumacher was carefully airlifted to Grenoble Hospital in France.
What injuries did Schumacher suffer?
After arriving at Grenoble Hospital, he underwent 2 surgeries. Michael Schumacher suffered severe injuries to his head, so the doctors had no other choice but to put Schumacher in a medically induced coma. If the doctors had not placed him in a coma, his body would not have been able to handle the procedures that took place.
Michael Schumacher suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This was the only major injury Schumacher got from the accident but it was very severe. Paramedics said if Michael had not been wearing the helmet, the accident could have been fatal.
According to a German newspaper, Michael Schumacher’s condition worsened while he was in the hospital, requiring the doctors to drill holes in Schumacher’s skull to help release pressure from his head.
Did Michael Schumacher recover from his skiing accident
Michael Schumacher was reportedly in a coma for almost 5 months until he was showing signs of consciousness. This was good news, so the doctors decided to slowly bring Michael back from the coma.
Soon after this, Schumacher was transferred from Grenoble Hospital to Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland for further rehabilitation. Before arriving at his new hospital, Schumacher’s situation was reportedly improving.
After another 4-5 months, Schumacher was released from the hospital and was allowed to continue his rehabilitation from the comfort of his home in Switzerland. This sounded positive for fans awaiting the news at home. Unfortunately, Schumacher still had not made a full recovery. According to reports, Schumacher was “paralyzed and in a wheelchair”. He also had problems with speaking and memory.
In 2015, Sabine Kehm gave us an update regarding Schumacher’s condition. Sabine Kehm has been beside Schumacher since 1999. She remained under Schumacher’s team even after he retired. She now manages Mick Schumacher’s career as well.
Sabine Kehm said that Michael Schumacher was slowly improving in 2015. This served as a disappointment to some fans. Fans have been wanting to see Michael Schumacher make an appearance in the F1 paddock at least once, so this news did not satisfy them. Over the years, we have received very few updates concerning Schumacher.
In 2019, Jean Todt who served as team principal during Schumacher’s success at Ferrari, visited the F1 champion’s home. After the visit, he told the media that Schumacher was making “good progress” but “struggles to communicate”. It is unlikely that Michael will ever fully recover from his injuries sustained in the accident.
Fans were happy to get some updates on Michael Schumacher, but what made the fans even happier was that Jean Todt had stated that Schumacher was able to watch Formula 1 races at home. This elated some fans.
How did the accident affect the Schumacher family?
Schumacher’s family has maintained a high level of privacy concerning Michael. They have done everything possible to protect the 7-time champion.
In 2021, Netflix released a documentary on Schumacher in which Corinna Schumacher stated this:
“We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable, and to simply make him feel our family, our bond,”
“We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.“ “Private is private’, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
In the same documentary, Mick Schumacher said:
“I think Dad and me, we would understand each other in a different way now”. “We would have had much more to talk about and that is where my head is most of the time, thinking that would be so cool. I would give up everything just for that. These moments that I believe many people have with their parents are no longer present, or to a lesser extent.”
Since the accident, Mick Schumacher has grown to become a Formula 1 driver, currently driving for Mercedes as a reserve driver.
Is Michael Schumacher still in a coma?
Michael Schumacher is not in a coma at the moment. He woke up from his coma in 2014, however, he does have issues with mobility, speech, and memory. Reports suggest that Michael Schumacher is currently in a wheelchair and is paralyzed. As stated above, Schumacher is able to watch F1 races from his home and his family is always there around him to show love and support.
Although his condition is improving slowly, it is unlikely that he will make a 100% recovery. Hopefully, if he does make a decent recovery, we could see him cheering on his son below the podium. It is unlikely, but not impossible.