Schumacher “not in a coma” confirms manager

2014 F1 season

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Michael Schumacher’s manager has announced that the former seven time world champion is now out of the medically-induced coma that doctors placed him into following the serious head injury he suffered in a skiing accident.

In a statement, Sabine Kehm said that Schumacher had left the Grenoble hospital where he had been under intensive care since December last year in order to continue his long-term rehabilitation.

“He is not in a coma any more,” said Kehm.

“His family would like to explicity thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident who did an excellent job in those first months.

“The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes to Michael. We are sure it helped him.”

There are no further details on Schumacher’s current condition or whereabouts. Schumacher had been in a medically-induced coma since suffering a serious head injury while skiing with his family in December.

“For the future, we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye,” said Kehm.

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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70 comments on “Schumacher “not in a coma” confirms manager”

  1. Fight Michael! This will be a long race but I am sure if someone has a chance – you will be the one seeing the chequered flag!

  2. Fritz Oosthuizen (@)
    16th June 2014, 11:48

    Great news.

  3. Best news i’ve heard all year

  4. petebaldwin (@)
    16th June 2014, 11:52

    Don’t really know how to take the news without any further information but I really hope there’s a chance of him recoving to a stage where he can have a good quality of life.

    Keep fighting Schumi – we’re all with you.

    1. +1, may I add my name to your message pete.

  5. Wow! What a champ! This made my year now! Although I´m he won´t be the same, I really don´t care, it´s good to still have him with us!! AVANTI MICHAEL, AVANTI!!!!

    1. insert “sure” after I´m… i hate that there isn´t a edit button.

  6. Such great news, I’m so happy for his family, hopefully his further rehab goes well.

    I’m glad that Keith has not posted articles on this site about experts who have no involvement in Schumacher’s situation have said Schumacher may never wake up and/or will likely die. It’s always annoying when news media do that.

    1. I second that. This site has been very reliable on Schumacher conditions and progress. Very good job indeed.
      Of course, very happy about the news. I wish Michael and his family the best and fast recovery.

    2. Indeed. F1F was, is and will be my reliable source of news on delicate matters like this. Well done Keith and co.!
      Words cannot describe my relief. Clear way now, for victory 92!

    3. Juan (@gumbercules)
      16th June 2014, 15:32

      “experts who have no involvement in Schumacher’s situation have said Schumacher may never wake up”

      No offense, but no one knows if he did wake up. All we know is he is no longer in a coma, which does not by itself mean he is now awake or responsive.

      I hope he recovers too, but there’s nothing wrong in being realistic, especially since this bit of news didn’t have any useful detail.

      1. More ghoulish speculation ! No thank you.

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          18th June 2014, 22:16

          @hohum @gumbercules
          Again it’s just speculation but as this is vaguely positive and suggests that he is awake and is responsive.

          http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2661308/Schumacher-eyes-open-nodded-120-mile-transfer-French-intensive-care-ward-Swiss-rehab-facility.html

  7. Some will surely be nitpicking and searching for bad news in the midst of good news. I’m just happy that he woke up for now, hopefully even if it’s a long recovery MSC will be having a good quality life at the end of the road.

    As it’s the Austrian GP soon I was watching again the last pole there in 2003 and surely one of the greatest ever laps by MSC. After the lurid slide at turn 2 Brundle and Allen were sure he blew it(So was I at the time). Yet he fought back magnificently to get pole. I was never MSC fan but he’s a fighter to the core, he’ll win this one too

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ogdNMGDO8

  8. That is fantastic news, so glad it has been officially confirmed!

  9. This is fantastic!! I knew it, by random chance I pulled out and F1 racing mag to swat flies this morning and guess what was on the cover:

    Pic of Schumi and “Shuey fights back” on the cover (Feb 2011)

    I chose another mag to swat flies.

    Best wishes Micheal!

  10. This is fantastic news and I share everyone’s joy in hearing it.

    But it also makes me filled with sadness and a little despair. I am no medical expert but from everything I’ve heard and read about Michael’s condition, it would seem incredibly unlikely to being borderline impossible that the Michael Schumacher that I worshiped as a young boy will ever come back.
    As such, while I still dearly hope there is a road to recovery for Michael, and while I wish nothing less for him than to be able to live with a good quality of life with his family, the balance of probability considering his condition suggests this won’t be the case. I hope I’ve never been more wrong.

    Keep fighting, Michael.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      16th June 2014, 12:22

      The positive for me is that any suggestions that he won’t recover have come from the same people who said he will probably never wake up. Lots of people have said that as no good news has been released, it must be bad but this new information blows that out of the water. They are simply keeping this situation private which is their call.

      He isn’t being treated by the NHS here so hopefully, with the best doctors and the best rehabilitation programme money can buy, he’ll recover enough to lead a happy life.

      1. I think they were waiting for him to leave the hospital then release info to avoid the media etc; if Sabine had stated he’s about to leave the hospital, the media frenzy would have been ridiculous around Michael.

        1. @xjr15jaaag @petebaldwin He’ll probably be skiing again by December….

          :D

    2. silverfan (@somerfield1561)
      16th June 2014, 13:28

      As much as I would love to feel differently, I must agree with @(colossal-squid), this announcement coinciding with Michael leaving hospital says to me that he is going home, in a semi-vegetative state, to a purpose built suite with full nursing staff, and will never be seen in public again, prove me wrong please Michael, but we must be realistic.

      IF he can gain some semblance of a normal life, I do hope that the media will leave him in peace, a short visit to a local restaurant would turn into an absolute circus… I feel so sad, whatever way it goes, the beautiful family life the Schumacher’s knew is gone forever.

      1. Have to agree, I suspect his current situation is that of being mentally lost forever (for want of a better word) though obviously I’d love to be proven wrong, and to have complete silence on the subject, for a sudden announcement that he’s doing well. I fear the opposite.

      2. This is indeed realistic. If there were any positive news the family would surely have shared it.

        The fact is, being ‘out of a coma’ is not equivalent to being ‘aware’ or even ‘minimally aware’; it is compatible with being in a persistent vegetative state.

        So I’m afraid I don’t greet this latest press release with any optimism; it would be naive to do so.

      3. Could be it’s too early to say more than they did. My friend was in a medically induced coma for 30 days and had to learn to walk and talk once he woke. He had also lost 80% of his hearing. So until they find out exactly what the impact of the accident and coma are, we’ll probably continue to get very general comments.

  11. Keep fighting Machael!!!!!

  12. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
    16th June 2014, 12:23

    While this is all positive, unfortunately the hard part starts now, we simply have to wait and see if there’s any brain damage and if so to what extent.

  13. That’s great news – yes the MSC who woke up is probably not the same MSC we knew, but that he woke up is already a huge step forward. I wish him all the best and hope he’ll find the strength once more to come back to a level where he can enjoy a decent life with his family.

  14. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
    16th June 2014, 12:40

    Good news? I wouldn’t be too sure. Read this, might change your mind:
    http://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/good-news/

    What Gary Hartstein basically says is that the fact the Schumacher is “not in a coma” is nothing new, and that there still is a possibility that his condition is not different from when he first openend his eyes and showed minimal (almost vegetative) responses to the outside world. I don’t what to bring your spirits down, but be prepared for different news than “Michael will address the press in August” or the like.

    1. Quoth Hartstein: “It is obviously good news”.

      Everything else is just his bitterness that he doesn’t have full access to medical details with which to tittilate the prying public. Yes, we all understand that Michael is in a terrible condition and making very slow progress, but this is coming from a guy who only a fortnight ago announced to the world his intent to hang up his keyboard for good, for the unspoken reason that he expected the next official news to be a death announcement. He may not be grateful he’s still hanging on, but some of us are.

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        16th June 2014, 13:10

        I don’t think that’s fair – Hartstein is just providing an insight into what is happening. Obviously he doesn’t have detailed information but a lot of people are reading this as great news when in reality, it doesn’t mean a lot. Schumi is still in a very precarious condition.

        It has now been reported that Schumi is in University Hospital of Lausanne. In terms of a long term prognosis, there is still a very long way to go before we can start to understand how things will work out. Some will read this press release of Schumi waking up as a sign that he is ok but it doesn’t mean that.

        To suggest that Hartstein wants some bad news so he can report it though is just plain wrong.

        1. Sure, what he writes will correct the false impression that many may get, but unfortunately he goes way beyond that. You lose all claim to being the voice of authority and informative discourse when you start trashing the management for not sharing his prurient desire to unload every detail of Michael’s condition on the public.

          The fact that you’re cool with spreading around Michael’s new (rumoured) location against the wishes of every person who matters most to him makes it abundantly clear whose wishes matter most to you.

          1. Juan (@gumbercules)
            16th June 2014, 15:39

            “You lose all claim to being the voice of authority and informative discourse when you start trashing the management for not sharing his prurient desire to unload every detail of Michael’s condition on the public.”

            Yea, that makes him a jerk, but it doesn’t mean his analysis of the situation is wrong.

            What exactly is the “Good News” given here? No one knows if he woke up, just that he is no longer in a coma. Even that statement is so ambiguous, does that mean no longer in medically induced coma or no coma at all? I just dont see any good news presented here.

          2. The good news is that he no longer needs intensive care. Did you even read the jerk-doctor’s blog?

          3. petebaldwin (@)
            16th June 2014, 20:47

            Well… I said it’s been reported and it’s certainly a credible source – Reuters http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/16/uk-motor-racing-schumacher-hospital-idUKKBN0ER0XQ20140616

            I wouldn’t say I was spreading rumours against Michael’s family!? I’m simply stating what Reuters have reported.

          4. It has been reported. Michael’s family also said they didn’t want it reported. Reuters have ads to sell. You didn’t even have anything to add to the discussion by naming his new whereabouts. Perhaps next time you feel like posting personal information without any relevant comment about it you could use your own home address…

    2. I have given up listening to anything Gary Hartstein will every say, and did that after his second or third comment on Schumacher.

      He’s really been annoying, keep shooting down every morsel of good news we’ve got.

      1. There’s no point getting false hope, and I think he is just being realistic – and he is far more qualified than almost any of us to do so.

        He’s not some grinch, he as much as any of us would like to see a positive ending to the story, but unfortunately, the odds are heavily against him.

      2. He’s being realistic.

    3. It is true that the statement does not say that Schumacher is on his way to a full recovery. Basically all that we know about his condition is that he still keeps fighting and only God knows how this race is going to end. I would probably like to know more about how he is doing but it is more than understandable that Schumacher’s family does not want to reveal any details and it is their wishes that count, not mine.

      It is also true that Schumacher’s family in the only source of information that we can really trust. As much as I love to read Gary Hartstein’s opinions, they are just that, opinions. So I still believe that Schumacher can make a full recovery and will keep believing that until I hear something else from his family.

    4. Hartstein does all this speculation with the same facts we have – as a physician he should know that there is no reliable diagnosis without hard facts and without all the details of a patients case. Even if he is right with his prognosis, he is still a lousy doctor, imo.

  15. Some of the best news ever!!!!!
    Thoughts still with Michael and his family
    Keep fighting Michael

  16. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

    @hanswesterbeek Well, yes it’s good.

    Just how good and how much of a news is it?……..so I won’t say he’s wrong.

    1. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
      16th June 2014, 12:49

      If the current press statement is nothing more than a rephrasing of “Michael is awake an conscious” than it might not be good news. Read Gary’s blog post please.

      1. “Gary”‘s blog post says it is good news. Even the master of manufacturing doubts from technicalities cannot deny that it is good news.

        1. If you are out of a come you can still be in a persistent vegetive state with no hope of coming out of one. I really hope this isn’t the case with Schumi and it would be incredible if, within a few years, he’s talking to the media a recovered man. However the pessimist in me says he won’t.

          I’d personally rather be in a coma than a persistent vegetive state, I would also rather be dead. Sorry to everyone who’s seeing this as a great step forward, until we hear he’s gained or gaining control of his muscles this is not good news to me.

          Here’s hoping he’s winning this battle and I’m just being pessimistic!

  17. I have very mixed feelings about this… It’s obviously good that he’s no longer in a coma, but the fact that they don’t want to release anything about his condition suggests that it isn’t good.

    1. You should be happy… He’s out of his coma!

  18. Great news!
    Get well soon Michael!

  19. I awoke this morning and thought about MS… I didn’t bother to check the news because I thought there was little or no hope for him after six long months. I’m crying for joy at this news.

  20. My sister’s husband works in an ICU & has treated many people in Michael’s condition over the years & he is of the same opinion as Gary Hartstein in that the wording been used means that its quite possible that while out of a coma he could still be in a vegetative state.

    Most non-medical people would think ‘out of coma’ means he’s awake & on the road to recovery through rehabilitation, However from a medical POV it apparently isn’t quite that simple as Gary points out.

    Still we can all hope & pray that it is the good news we all want it to be.

  21. This was the first thing I read when I woke up and it made me happy to hear he is progressing. Here’s hoping he makes a full recovery.

  22. Great news… Keep fighting Michael

  23. God, I’m crying

    1. So am I

      1. I almost did too guys!

  24. Absolutely fantastic news! :D Here’s to a full recovery for the legend.

  25. Seems there is two groups of people regarding Gary Hartstein.

    Believers and non believers.

    Group 1 comes with other ICU doctors and neuro specialists that say pretty much the same. The other group calls the professionals “bitter about not having access” or “He is shooting down every morsel of hope”.

    I am not a medical specialist, but after readin @former_f1doc’s posts i read up on it a bit (work in a hospital, easy to get medical journals etc) and i feel that Gary is doing two things…

    1: He is shooting down the morsels of hope…. for a reason
    2: He is probably more spot on in his analysis then we all realize.

    I Hope that the management, family and medical team chose to “lie” to the public on purpose, protecting Michael, but i fear that he will in a year or two be another F1 racer that came to an untimely end (albeit not due to racing).

    Fact is that anyone in a coma (chemical or natural) for more then 2 months will most likely (60%+) never get out of it to the point of being aware of his/her surroundings.

    So although this is good news, for the family (less travel stress) i fear that in the long run they are saying their goodbyes

    1. Pretty much this.

      The only solace I can gather here is that when he passes, it will be at home, and his family will not need to dodge the public to grieve. They can have however long they need before collecting themselves, then release a statement.

    2. Since I’m pretty sure you’re paraphrasing my comment as an example of the “unbelievers” group let me set a few things straight:

      First, Hartstein’s conduct is not representative of that of most other medical professionals.

      On the topic where the professionals are saying the same thing – the prognosis of people in the same condition as what we know about Michael’s condition – I do not doubt his expertise. Things look bleak for Michael, no question about it.

      The reason most people find Hartstein so contemptible is that that he goes far beyond the confines of ethical medical explanation. He builds hypotheses out of what has not been said and then constructs detailed medical analysis around them. He analyses tabloid rumours like they were charts from his hospital bed itself. He chastises those whose primary duty is to Michael and his family, and who have access to all the details, for their public handling of the information he doesn’t know. He criticises healthcare professionals for decisions they made based on more information than he’s even laid eyes on since his very first blog post. He has giddy conversations on Twitter about all the new followers he’s getting and how exciting his newfound “job” is. He even made a public promise to leave Michael and his family alone, and went just two weeks before he couldn’t help himself again.

      This isn’t about what we know or don’t know about Michael’s condition – it’s about a vulture who has made it twice as unpleasant to hear news about Michael’s condition as it had to be. Not because of what it means about Michael’s chances but because of the professionally bankrupt narcissim that I would bet has dealt at least one of those close to Michael an emotional blow they could really have done without.

  26. another step, even small ones, is positive. really really hope he can recover to a degree with good quality.

  27. WooHoo!!!!!!!

    Keep fighting Michael! The first miracle is fact. Now it is mainly in your family and in your hand and patience to recovery as fast and as better as possible. Keep pushing as you know best. Make the unbelievable a fact, as you managed to do many times in your career.

  28. I’m just happy there is news. I’m no medial expert, but even those who are and are not treating Michael can fully know how he is doing. Even those who are treating him can’t see the future.

    What we all can see, is that we know little more; but we do know more. We know Michael is closer to his family now and we know how close he kept his family to himself, so it is logical that they keep Michael to themselves.

    Gary Hartstein (at this point I refuse to call him doctor) has taken his tirades of speculating being bad and has driven it all the way to thousandsofclicks-per-article-ville. Never have I seen such a qualified and experienced man talk about ‘we know nothing’ and take it to defcon 1 a paragraph later.

    But he can do that. If that kind of blogging annoyed me, I would have had wordpress, blogspot et. al in my blocked list a long time ago.

    Yet he keeps talking about how ‘bad’ it is not to tell us more. He keeps speaking for the fans, about how ‘poorly’ we are being treated.

    You know what I care about? Michael Schumacher. I don’t care if I never see a picture of him again, or they don’t tell us how he’s doing ever again, I care about him and his family, not my personal interest. Judging by the outpouring of joy at today’s news, I can’t help but feel that most people feel the same way.

    1. “You know what I care about? Michael Schumacher. I don’t care if I never see a picture of him again, or they don’t tell us how he’s doing ever again, I care about him and his family, not my personal interest. Judging by the outpouring of joy at today’s news, I can’t help but feel that most people feel the same way.”

      This, a million times.

    2. +10000000000 to the last paragraph of your post.

  29. I think it’s good news. Not being in a coma means there any chance of recovery. time will tell us how much.
    My girlfriend was in a coma for 45 days, one year later she recovered completely. Obviously each case is unique, but we can still thinking the best for this great champion.

  30. I’ve delved deep and catiously optimistic is the best I can come up with. Whilst it seems like good news that Schuey is out of the coma, there is a lot left unsaid and reading between the lines, I just don’t think this is the news we’ve all been hoping for. Nevertheless I wholeheartedly hope I am wrong & the circumspect manner in which information is being released is done in order to protect him and his family and aid his rehabilitation in the best way possible. My thoughts are with you buddy.

  31. Somebody tell him that his team is the best in the grid please. I am sure he will be very happy to hear that.

    The second best news (apart from knowing that I will be a dad soon) for me this year!

  32. If you read the statement it tells you all you need to know. He shows a ‘slight response to his wife’s voice’ in other words, nothing’s changed too much. Hope he improves.

  33. Great news. Keep on fighting Michael. Namibia is pulling along. Great job thus far.

  34. he was out of the coma in April already, so no new information apart from him being moved to another hospital which is closer to his wife’s house.. the recovery will take years and might not be full, so i hope people stop being obsessed with this story so much and let Michael and his family be.

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