14 DAY TRIAL // Wonderful news for Michael Schumacher's fans. After increasingly worrying reports that the driver was not going to recover from his coma and remain in a vegetative state until his passing, today his publicist has confirmed that the F1 driver has not only recovered, but he has also gone home to his family.
The Telegraph quotes his spokesperson, Sabine Kehm, who has said that “Michael has left the CHU Grenoble (hospital) to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore.”
As it's natural, the family has taken the time to thank all the well-wishers who have shown their support throughout these trying 6 months, after Michael had his skiing accident in the French Alps that put him out of action for half a year.
“His family would like to explicitly 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 spokesperson has added.
Though his departure from the hospital has been confirmed, there is no indication as to where the rest of his rehabilitation would take place. The statement simply says, “rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye.”
Many suggest that this facility is going to be in his home, where his wife has been building an annex since he entered in a coma. It was speculated that this was done to accommodate the driver and many took this as a sign that doctors told her that he would never recover.
As a testament to the passions he inspires, Michael's fans held regular vigils outside the hospital during these past six months, some coming from all over Europe to give their regards. The family personally thanked them by saying, “we are sure it helped him.”
Schumacher was in an artificially induced coma at the Grenoble Hospital, after suffering a crash while skiing off-piste in the French Alps on December 29, 2013. Despite the fact that he wore a helmet, the former F1 champion managed to sustain severe injuries to his head. Doctors now think the helmet saved his life.
Fans are now eager to find out more details about Michael's state of health, but sadly these have not been provided. A couple of weeks ago, doctors speculated that even if Schumacher came out of his coma, he was still vulnerable to a series of side effects usually connected with brain trauma.
In cases such as this, where the patient has been unconscious for so long, it's not uncommon for the brain damage to affect certain skills such as walking, reading, talking or eating. Those who recover are sometimes forced to learn these abilities all over again, as the brain recovers.