The Briefing Room
General Category => Sports/Entertainment/MSM/Social Media => Topic started by: flowers on January 16, 2014, 12:43:41 am
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540017/Fears-grow-Michael-Schumacher-coma-rest-life.html
German media rife with speculation after speaking to brain injury experts
Formula One star has been in artificially induced coma for the last 18 days
Bild newspaper says his condition is so grave there are no plans to wake
Silence from his management and medical team has also fuelled concerns
Fears are growing in Germany that stricken F1 legend Michael Schumacher may be in a coma for the rest of his life.
German weekly news magazine Focus reported that 'Schumacher could be in a coma forever' after speaking with experts on his condition.
Bild newspaper also reported that his condition is so grave that there are currently no plans to wake him.
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Speculation by news people.
The family and medical people have had virtually no comments on his true condition for days.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2543765/Michael-Schumacher-remain-persistent-vegetative-state.html
Fears are growing that Michael Schumacher could remain in a 'persistent vegetative state' for the rest of his life even if he wakes up from his coma.
The Formula One legend has been in intensive care since his skiing accident in France nearly four weeks ago.
He was placed into an artificially induced coma shortly after the crash to help his brain heal, but such measures normally last only a maximum of two weeks.
Jean-Marc Orgogozo, Professor of Neurology at the University of Bordeaux, said: 'Every day, every week in a coma the chances decline that the situation is improving'.
One Austrian website reported Schumacher, 45, may suffer from Apallic Syndrome or persistent vegetative state.
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Are we missing something? If they put him in the drug induced coma they can bring him out-usually...
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Michael Schumacher’s ski helmet might have broken because it was weakened by the camera fixed to it, investigators have revealed.
Story here (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/michael-schumacher-latest-news-headcam-3150664#ixzz2tabYCQL6)
The article also says doctors still are trying to ease Schumacher out of his medically-induced coma.
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Michael Schumacher’s ski helmet might have broken because it was weakened by the camera fixed to it, investigators have revealed.
Story here (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/michael-schumacher-latest-news-headcam-3150664#ixzz2tabYCQL6)
The article also says doctors still are trying to ease Schumacher out of his medically-induced coma.
Now that's an interesting development.
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Now that's an interesting development.
Very possible. It depends on what the helmet was made of, and how it was made, and how whomever installed the camera made the holes, and whether they damaged the helmet in the process. In addition, the helmet was not likely designed to absorb the forces developed when the camera is struck and transfers the forces to the helmet. Shock waves propagate through solid objects in predictable ways and it isn't difficult to induce damage in an object with multiple shocks coming from different directions.
And the skull under that helmet is another solid object.....
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Ironic about the helmet. Formula 1 drivers including Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna pushed for greater safety measures, and my guess is that Schumacher supported safety too.
Michael Schumacher was a truly great driver, and his records prove that. No scandals or controversies that I know of.
He did his entertaining on the race course, not off the track.
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Michael Schumacher was a truly great driver, and his records prove that. No scandals or controversies that I know of.
He did his entertaining on the race course, not off the track.
Yes. This is so sad for his family.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2575531/Doctors-tell-Michael-Schumachers-family-miracle-save-say-reports.html
The family of F1 legend Michael Schumacher have been informed by doctors treating him that the chances of recovery are now so slim that only 'a miracle' can save him.
Today the 45-year-old winner of seven grand prix titles has been in an artificially induced coma for 69 days since badly injuring his brain during a low-speed ski accident in the French Alps on December 29. Most artificial comas last for a period of two to three weeks.
His management team, led by spokeswoman Sabine Kehm, insist that he remains in the 'wake up' phase of his treatment as doctors continue to decrease the powerful narcotics that have kept him unconscious. Official news about his condition is minimal: but sources close to the family say the prognosis for Schumacher could not be worse.
'He is in terrible shape but until the family issue a statement we cannot write about it,' said one senior German journalist. 'The family have, we are told, been informed that only a miracle can bring him back now.'
However, Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport is claiming that the seven-time world champion is no longer on a ventilator and is now breathing independently.
Focus magazine reported a fortnight ago that the wake-up phase had been stopped due to complications and that he was placed back in the coma. That was denied by Kehm although experts say that such a super-fit individual as Schumacher would have expelled all the drugs from his body by now, and that if he was going to wake up, he would have done so already.
This week was a vital one for Schumacher: two months into his coma - induced to slow down brain functions, thus allowing it to heal more rapidly - doctors were hoping for a sign that he was aware of his environment.
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Injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has been showing "small, encouraging signs" in his fight for recovery, his family says.
"We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up," the relatives said in a statement.
Doctors in France have been working to bring the seven-time champion out of a medically induced coma.
The 45-year-old German suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26541565
Fingers crossed.
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Jack de Menezes
Former Formula 1 chief doctor Dr Gary Hartstein has warned that fans must prepare themselves "for the worst" news as attempts to awaken Michael Schumacher continue following his horrific ski accident.
Schumacher suffered serious brain injuries after hitting his head on a rock when skiing off-piste in the exclusive French resort of Meribel at the end of December, with attempts to bring him out of his medically-induced coma now in an eighth week.
The 45-year-old's manager Sabine Kehm confirmed 13 days ago that attempts to awaken the seven-time world champion are continuing and will do for "as long as it takes", warning that it can be a very long and drawn out process.
However, Dr Hartstein - who was a key figure in the paddock until the end of the 2012 season - has admitted that the longer it takes, the less likely it is that Schumacher will ever recover.
Writing on his personal blog, the American said: "As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent."
A number of tributes and messages of support have been passed on in the hope that Schumacher will recover, and the support across the globe is not a surprise for the 58-year-old Professor.
"I always knew Michael was adored," Dr Hartstein continued.
"I spent years at circuits drenched in red by the Ferrari caps, flags, and shirts, and all of that for Michael. I'm still staggered by the depth and persistence of his fans' love for him.
"And whereas I worried more than a bit about what was going to happen when and if really bad news got announced, I've realised that perhaps the lack of status updates has given us all a chance to move on a bit, to process what's happening, and to start to... detach."
Reports earlier today claimed that Schumacher had lost up to 25 per cent of his body weight due to muscle atrophy, a condition common when patients are in a deep coma as their muscles are not being used.
Dr Hartstein said that it is "entirely possible and, in fact, probable" that Schumacher had lost a significant amount of weight.
"Happily, the consequences are not particularly dramatic, at least immediately," he added.
"To be blunt, a patient in coma doesn't really need his or her muscles . . . with the exception of the diaphragm. The diaphragm, which like the heart is pretty much always active, resists atrophy rather better than other muscles, but it does atrophy.
"And having a machine doing the breathing for you is one of the best ways to see how disuse atrophy affects the diaphragm too. Unfortunately, and assuming (as I have until now) that Michael is being ventilated by a respirator, there is probably some degree of diaphragmatic atrophy at this point."
Dr Hartstein went open to describe Schumacher's current state as a "persistent coma", and mentioned the "sever ramifications" that a lengthy period of time in a coma can cause.
"As mentioned previously, the longer one remains in a vegetative state, the less the likelihood of emerging, and the higher the chances of severe ramifications if the patient does in fact emerge," Dr Hartstein wrote.
"Most definitions consider the vegetative state to be permanent one year after the injury.
"Patients who are in a persistent/permanent vegetative state have lifespans that are measured in months to a few years. This depends on baseline function (extraordinary in the case of Michael, of course), the quality of nursing care, and other imponderables. They usually die of respiratory or urinary infections. Longer survivals have been described, but are exceptional."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/racing/schumacher-battling-for-life/top-stories/Michael-Schumacher-Former-F1-doctor-warns-fans-must-prepare-for-the-worst/articleshow/32728200.cms (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/racing/schumacher-battling-for-life/top-stories/Michael-Schumacher-Former-F1-doctor-warns-fans-must-prepare-for-the-worst/articleshow/32728200.cms)
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Michael Schumacher's wife builds £10million medical suite in their mansion to look after stricken F1 Ace when he leaves hospital after being told it is unlikely he will wake
•The medical facility will be built in the family's £25million Swiss estate
•Doctors think it is unlikely Michael Schumacher will ever wake up
•Despite grim prognosis, the seven-time F1 champion's family will not give up
•The family are currently making 150-mile round trip to his bedside daily
•Family friend said Corinna Schumacher would see giving up as a 'betrayal'
Sam Creighton and Allan Hall
The wife of Michael Schumacher is reportedly spending £10million on building a fully equipped medical suite in their family home so her husband can leave the hospital.
Even though Corinna Schumacher, 45, has been told by doctors it is highly unlikely the racing ace will ever wake up from his medically induced coma, she has decided to use the family's £500million fortune to build the facility in their lavish £25million estate on the banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Today is the three month anniversary of the Alps skiing accident where the seven-time F1 champion, 45, hit his head and was put into an induced coma to reduce brain swelling.
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/29/article-0-005D63C800000258-31_634x430.jpg)
Since then, there have been few encouraging signs of recovery and the racing ace has been wasting away in his hospital bed, losing 25 per cent of his body mass to now only weigh 8st 7lbs.
A friend of the Schumacher's, who has known the family for 25 years, told The Sun: 'Miracles happen, of course, and as a wealthy man he has the best care money can buy.
'But all the money in the world cannot fix what has happened to him. The family are making arrangements for a future of permanent immobility.
'Is there a sense of denial at play among them? I would say yes'
The family's life has been taken over by the accident, every day they make the 150-mile round trip from their home in Switzerland to the Grenoble University Hospital, France, where Schumacher is receiving the best possible care.
They spend up to ten hours by his bedside, offering up prayers for his recovery, before returning home in the evening.
Michael Schumacher was always a keen skier, the sport appealed to his thrill seeking and love of speed
Mrs Schumacher has always been a devoted wife, extremely supportive of her husband's career.
Mr Schumacher once said: 'It is not so easy to find a partner who unconditionally adapts to the pace of my life.'
Both growing up in the same region of West Germany, Michael and Corinna Schumacher met at a party in 1991 and fell in love. The pact that has seen their loving relationship endure is that she allows him pursue his high-octane career and, in return, he would give her everything she could want.
With an accumulated wealth estimated to be well over half-a-billion pounds, Schumacher's family is well placed to provide the limitless care that will be needed in the coming years. This will include physiotherapists, to massage his atrophying joints, doctors, nutritionists, nurses and neurological experts.
He used the staggering fortunes from his 22-year career to snap up a ranch in Texas, where Corinna raises horses, as well as apartments and ski chalets around the world - including the one in Meribel from which he set out on the tragic day late last year.
He even built the estate on Lake Geneva where the new medical facility will be installed.
As a result, Mrs Schumacher refuses to give up on the man she once described as the 'perfect partner'.
The family friend told The Sun she 'would view breaking faith with the hope of a miracle a betrayal, little better than treachery.
'She feels that the family communes around his bedside pulsate their hope and love to him, and that of the millions of fans worldwide who share that faith.
'She can’t express defeat because that would be the end of her.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2592156/Michael-Schumachers-wife-builds-10million-medical-suite-mansion-look-stricken-F1-Ace-leaves-hospital-told-unlikely-wake.html#ixzz2xOZgUavM
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10866273/Cycle-helmets-are-useless-says-brain-surgeon.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10866273/Cycle-helmets-are-useless-says-brain-surgeon.html)
Cycle helmets are useless, says brain surgeon
Leading neurosurgeon tells the Hay Festival cycling helmets are 'too flimsy' to be beneficial
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent
9:22PM BST 30 May 2014
A leading neurosurgeon has controversially claimed that cyclists who wear helmets are wasting their time.
Henry Marsh, who works at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, said that many of his patients who have been involved in bike accidents have been wearing helmets that were ‘too flimsy’ to be beneficial.
He made the comments while speaking at the Hay Festival during a discussion with Ian McEwan, whose latest novel Saturday centre's around a neurosurgeon.
He cited evidence from the University of Bath that suggests that wearing a helmet may even put cyclists at greater risk. The research showed that drivers get around 3 inches closer to cyclists who wear helmets because they perceive them as safer.
He said: “I ride a bike and I never wear a helmet. In the countries where bike helmets are compulsory there has been no reduction in bike injuries whatsoever.
“I see lots of people in bike accidents and these flimsy little helmets don’t help.”
Mr Marsh said that he had been riding his bike for 40 years, wearing a cowboy hat, and had only fallen off once.
“I have been cycling for 40 years and have only been knocked off once. I wear a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. I look completely mad."
Cyclists travel around 3.1 billion miles each year in Britain. Lights and reflectors are a legal obligation after dark, and reflective jackets an increasingly common sight.
But helmets are not compulsory in the UK, unlike in Australia and parts of the US, yet the government encourages cyclists to wear one.
Research conducted by Dr Ian Walker, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Bath, showed that motorists drove around 8cm closer when overtaking cyclists with helmets.
He suggested that drivers think helmeted cyclists are more sensible, predicable and experienced, so therefore the driver doesn't need to give them much space when overtaking.
Non-helmeted cyclists, especially non helmeted "women" are less predictable and experienced, according to this study and so motorists give them more room.
However, Mr Marsh's comments are likely to anger cycling safety campaigners, who believe that helmets provide essential protection on Britain's busy and narrow roads.
James Cracknell, the Olympic rowing gold medalist, was nearly killed while cycling in 2010 after he was hit by a petrol tanker.
He has said that he only survived the accident because he had been wearing a helmet and has described those who do not wear one as "selfish" as their actions can impact their loved ones.
"From a personal point of view I would be dead if I hadn't worn a helmet," he said. "A wing mirror smashed into my skull at 70mph.
"There is no downside to wearing a helmet except having messy hair. And you have to remember that eight out of ten kids who have cycling accidents are not on the road.
"Even if you don't care enough about yourself to wear a helmet other people care about you."
A Department of Transport study has shown that helmets could prevent 10-16 per cent of cyclist fatalities, although this was also an estimate based on a small study.
Angie Lee, Chief Executive of the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust said: “I hope he is going to take responsibility for the cyclist who gets injured because they take their helmet off following his comments.
“This may be his opinion but there are a lot more neurosurgeons and surgeons who would counter that argument.
“My advice would be the same as the Department of Transport’s which is that helmets have a place in protecting the head.”
Marsh, who retires in March, also admitted jumping red lights to get ahead of the traffic.
“It’s my life at risk,” he said, ‘So I regularly cross over red lights.”
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Never wore one as a kid and only God knows how many times I wiped out.
I'm still alive to talk about it, although maybe it does explain a few things. :silly:
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Never wore one as a kid and only God knows how many times I wiped out.
I'm still alive to talk about it, although maybe it does explain a few things. :silly:
Until New York State made it a crime to not wear one if you were under 14, I never wore one, either, and by the time I was 14, I gave it up for good.
I still ride my bicycle fairly frequently, and without a helmet. The statement "The research showed that drivers get around 3 inches closer to cyclists who wear helmets because they perceive them as safer." is, from my experience, at least partially true. I've been on my bicycle going into oncoming traffic (usually because there's a barking dog trying to get aggressive toward me on the "right" side of the road) and you would not believe how many times I see a car swerve clear halfway into the other lane just to avoid hitting me, even if I'm off the side of the road and am in no danger of getting hit. (Thankfully that only happens when there isn't any traffic coming in the same direction as me.)
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Sort of like the reason why motorcycle helmets are called brain buckets.
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A good quality helmut, which fits correctly and fastened properly, is a smart safety measure.
I can ride on trails away from vehicle traffic. Nevertheless, if you go down the helmut may make a difference.
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A good quality helmut, which fits correctly and fastened properly, is a smart safety measure.
I can ride on trails away from vehicle traffic. Nevertheless, if you go down the helmut may make a difference.
true enough. it probably has more to do with the quality of the helmet than anything else, and a lot of bicycle helmets really aren't of that high a quality. Sort of like the three-mile-an-hour bumpers we have on cars - useful if you nudge another car while trying to get out of a parallel parking space, but otherwise just something else to be replaced when it's damaged.
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true enough. it probably has more to do with the quality of the helmet than anything else, and a lot of bicycle helmets really aren't of that high a quality. Sort of like the three-mile-an-hour bumpers we have on cars - useful if you nudge another car while trying to get out of a parallel parking space, but otherwise just something else to be replaced when it's damaged.
Michael Schumacher, retired Formula 1 driver, is laying in a coma, from a minor skiing fall.
He was wearing a rental helmet, with a camera mounted on it. I wonder if the camera mounting defeated the structural strength of the helmet?
Nikki Lauda, Aryton Senna, and Jackie Stewart all took up the cause of safety for drivers.
I see no good argument for bicyclists to ignore common sense safety measures.
Don't miss Ron Howard's movie titled "Rush." About Lauda and James Hunt.
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A good quality helmut, which fits correctly and fastened properly, is a smart safety measure.
I can ride on trails away from vehicle traffic. Nevertheless, if you go down the helmut may make a difference.
Quality is the key for any protective gear, but a lot of people aren't willing to spring for high quality gear that is going to be grown out of (for kids) or expensive to replace if damaged (adults). Pretty stupid, but people do tend to be.