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The life of the legendary racing driver was divided into “before” and “after” during a harmless vacation in the French Alps. On December 29, 2013, Schumacher fell while skiing and suffered a serious brain injury, which led to serious consequences. Ten years later, Sport looks back at the great driver's career and talks about his life after his fall.
A motorsport legend
Over 19 seasons in Formula 1, Schumacher secured the title of the most successful and titled driver in history. He took seven championship titles, won 91 Grands Prix and stood on the podium 155 times. Despite the fact that Lewis Hamilton surpassed the achievements of the great German, it was he who became the main legend of the sport and synonymous with high-speed driving. In addition, the records for the number of fastest laps and consecutive championship titles still remain under Michael. .jpg» />
He left Formula 1 in 2006, but returned four years later. At Mercedes, Schumacher no longer scored victories in every race, but in the final season he returned to the podium — at 43 years old. At the end of the 2012 season, Schumacher retired.
Fatal fall
Everything changed at the end of 2013. During a ski holiday in the French Alps, the seven-time champion had a bad fall and suffered a serious head injury.
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“He was skiing with a group on a regular slope. Helped a friend who had fallen in the snow, touched a stone and fell headfirst. “He was terribly unlucky, because he was not driving fast,” Schumacher’s manager Sabina Kem commented on the incident.
Initially, the injury did not seem serious, but the situation quickly worsened. While being transported from the scene of the accident, the driver lost consciousness, but the medical team did everything to take Schumacher to hospital in Grenoble. On the evening of the same day, Michael underwent the first operation.The driver spent the next few weeks in an induced coma. Doctors performed several more operations in an attempt to reduce the hematoma and relieve pressure in the skull. They succeeded, but the German's brain was already damaged. At the end of January 2014, Schumacher was taken out of anesthesia and began the gradual process of emerging from a coma.
Michael stayed in the clinic until June. All this time, reports periodically appeared in the press about “minor improvements” in his condition from Sabina Kem, which were also confirmed by his former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who visited him. In September, Schumacher returned home to continue his rehabilitation.
br>Life after
Doctors commented on Schumacher's progress with cautious optimism, saying that emotional stimulation in a familiar environment would help the Red Baron's recovery. After his return to the house on the shores of Lake Geneva, Michael's family did everything to keep the details secret from the press. Periodic news about the driver's improvement has not been denied, with the exception of Autosprint's statement that Schumacher «is not bedridden and is sitting in a seat near the window.» Kem even sued several publications that published similar data.
Over the next few years, information about Schumacher's condition was shared by guests who visited him. In the summer of 2016, Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, said that the German “perceives what is happening around him and conducts an internal dialogue with himself,” and two years later, former Ferrari manager Jean Todt confirmed that he watched with Michael Brazilian Grand Prix.
In 2021, news appeared about the sale of the house on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Schumacher underwent rehabilitation. This was indirectly confirmed by the wife of the boss of the former team of Michael “Bennettone” Elisabetta Gregoraci.
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“He doesn’t talk, he communicates with his eyes,” she told Mediaset. “Only three people are allowed to see him. They moved to Spain and his wife set up a hospital at home.»
Topics However, it seems that the seven-time champion never regained the ability to fully communicate. This is hinted at by quotes from members of his family from a documentary film for Netflix, released in September 2021.
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“I think now my father and I would understand each other differently,” said Schumacher’s son Mick. “Simply because we speak the same language — the language of motorsport. We would have much more topics to talk about. Now I spend most of my time I'm thinking about racing, so that would be really cool. Just for that, I would give anything. Yes. Since the incident happened, that experience, those moments that I believe a lot of people share with their parents, are no longer there— or they are present to a lesser extent. In my opinion, this is slightly unfair.»
Michael's wife shared treatment insights — more than 23 million euros were spent on caring for the pilot, he continues therapy, he is comfortable, but communication with him is apparently very difficult.
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«Of course, I miss Michael. I miss him every day. But of course, in reality we all miss: the children, the family, the father, all his loved ones. We all miss Michael, but in fact he is here with us . He has become different, but he is here, and this gives us strength. We are together. We live together in a house, we do therapy. We do everything possible to make Michael feel better, to make him comfortable, so that he just feels like his family nearby. And I will do everything necessary, no matter what. We will all be,» she said.
A few days ago about the impossibility of returning Schumacher was encouraged to live a full life by his brother Ralf.
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«This incident changed our family. I can say that his accident also became a very bad and difficult experience for me. Unfortunately, life is not always fair, and unfortunately there was some bad luck here too. I miss the Michael of that time. Life is sometimes unfair. Michael was often lucky in life, but this tragic incident happened. Fortunately, new opportunities in medicine allow something to be done , but still everything is not the same as before,” he said.
Despite the lack of reliable information about the current state of the legend, the fact that he is alive, no longer in a coma and remains in his mind, people close to him confirmed more than once. Perhaps he can even communicate with them, giving some kind of response signals. This means we must not lose hope for the best.
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