Champions stage comebacks .... Schumacher great recovery from coma.. Get well soon !

Vasool Raja MBBS was a super hit …. a story of a small time don in Chennai, first poses as a Doctor and later joins medical college – there does holistic treatment …. Anand Banerjee (Yatin Karyekar) – lies desolate in coma with none caring to attend – the hero, shaves him, dresses him and takes him out – and by miracle, he too turns normal ……. Such things happen only in Cinema ! ?

In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning "deep sleep") is a state of unconsciousness lasting more than six hours, in which a person, cannot be awakened; fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound; lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle; and, does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as being comatose. A comatose person exhibits a complete absence of wakefulness and is unable to consciously feel, speak, hear, or move.

The whole World read and reacted when - Michael Schumacher, the ace racing driver, a  seven-time Formula One World Champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries in a ‘skiing’ accident in Dec 2013. It was stated to be a result of “extreme bad luck” and not because he was going too fast, yet the damage was done, the  45-year-old  was put into an induced coma after the accident  to reduce brain swelling and give him a better chance of recovery.  Then reports flowed that it is unlikely to recover and as months passed by, hopes started vanishing and people also slowly started not following the recovery. 

Great sportsmen are made of sterner stuff – they fall, and get up and reach greater heights – it is their resolve and strong mind that makes them Champions …. Schumi is undisputedly a champion and he has displayed his raw nerves once again….. Michael Schumacher has not just won again; he has won as he has never done before in his 45 celebrated years on earth; he has won as he would never perhaps — hopefully — be asked to win, ever again. Six months after he stumbled while skiing at a leisurely pace —with his son and hit a rock-face in the French Alps, suffered near-fatal brain injuries and went into a coma — a state that was medically stretched and sustained to help the brain’s recovery — Schumacher was discharged from the Grenoble hospital on 16^th June 2014.  The champion born in 1969 started his rise to fame winning first major title in 1990.  A year later made his Formula One debut for Jordan in Belgium, qualifying seventh before retiring.  His rise was meteoric every year with more acclaims becoming his. In Nov 2013, he bowed out of F1 and in Dec 29 suffered the worst accident. 

It is a great and happy news to read that Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in coma anymore. For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye,” said his manager Sabine Kehm in a brief statement.  Schumacher’s recovery — and his departure from his hospital bed — is not something that readily unravels in our understanding – we may never under the nuances of medicine – it may even be inexplicable – yet it is great that Schumi is back – back from coma.  There can be no doubt at all that the happy turn of fortune for the long-suffering Schumacher family has come about because of the state-of-the-art, round-the-clock medical care that was provided to him and the great man’s own awesome level of fitness. There is something beyond all that as well. 

Courage is Michael’s middle name; and few sportsmen of our times, perhaps of all time, have ever displayed it — courage — as often in the face of adversity as has Schumacher writes The Hindu – perhaps equal credit needs to be given to the women who looked after him, travelled long miles from their country to another daily.

Reports state that Schumacher has been moved to  University Hospital of the Canton of Vaud (CHUV), in Lausanne, a facility about 20 miles from the home of the seven-time F1 champion. He lives in a mansion worth £50 million on the shores of Lake Geneva with his devoted wife Corinna and their teenage children Mick and Gina Marie. Schumacher's family offered their gratitude to all those who have played a part in the process over the past five and a half months. After 170 days comes the encouraging news for the family who for sure would be praying for complete recovery sooner.

In between there was the news that the F1 racing driver was being  sued for causing a traffic accident in Spain last November;  a collision with a motorcyclist which took place in the town of Bormujos, close to Seville on November 17 last year, reported Xinhua. The champ was accused of not respecting right of way at a roundabout, knocking the motorcyclist, off his bike and causing him to break his wrist as well as damaging his motorbike.  On a private visit to Spain, he was driving a rented Audi A4 at the time of the accident and poor lighting on the road has also been mooted as helping to contribute to the collision. It was reported that a  trial will only take place if insurers contest the claim and the 45-year-old German would not have to attend any court hearing.

 

Even though the family and wife  Corinna Schumacher,  were reportedly told by doctors that it was highly unlikely the racing ace will ever wake up from his medically induced coma, she decided to use the family's £500million fortune to build the facility in their lavish £25million estate on the banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The family's life  was taken over by the accident, every day as  they made the 150-mile round trip from their home in Switzerland to the Grenoble University Hospital, France, where Schumacher was receiving the best possible care. They spent hours by his bedside, offering up prayers for his recovery, before returning home in the evening. Mr Schumacher had once said: 'It is not so easy to find a partner who unconditionally adapts to the pace of my life.' ~ and his loving partner Corinna Schumacher had really stood by him all the way. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

17^th June 2014.