Schumacher ski accident, coma and recovery

[aral]

A lot of ppl said that Schu will never escape from coma but now he's fine.

I am delighted that he has been able to be transferred to his home and family, but to say he is fine is just plain ridiculous. when he was in his induced coma, it was machines that were helping him to live. he is out of his coma now, but that alas, does not mean he is sitting up and watching those around him. all it means is that as he does not need machines to help him breathe etc, he can be returned to a purpose built ward in his own house where his family and special nurses can be with him.
i was always optimistic, but basically he is still in a semi vegative state and there is no recognition or speech. there is no report that he is even able to see around him.
we probably will hear no more from any source, until there is some real change, which i hope will be positive.

[timbo]

It's not that he's negative; he's just uninformed, yet he speaks from a position of authority anyway.

Yeah, what's the problem with Garys?

He mentions that the statement that Schumacher is out of coma is not news to him, but did he ever mention this before today in his blog?

[bhall]

I'm not exactly sure what you're saying/asking. Clarify?

[timbo]

I'm not exactly sure what you're saying/asking. Clarify?

Well IMO, the main point of his recent post is that the news are not exactly news to him. But if so, did he ever comment that he is out of coma prior to today? I did quick look through his blog, and haven't found definitive answer.

[ScottB]

The media coverage of this is quite irresponsible, and is getting people's hopes up; headlines of 'Schumacher leaves hospital' coupled with pictures showing him walking / skiing / driving / whatever makes it appear that everything is a'ok.

But of course it isn't. People expecting a miracle recovery are likely being wildly optimistic I'm afraid. The media really should be trying to reign in the public's expectation, but as we have something of a vacuum (due to the family's understandable desire for privacy) it is allowing the media and uninformed people to fill the gaps for themselves.

[bhall]

Well IMO, the main point of his recent post is that the news are not exactly news to him. But if so, did he ever comment that he is out of coma prior to today? I did quick look through his blog, and haven't found definitive answer.

I have no idea. I've not followed his blog except for the beginning of this saga, around about the time he made the creepy assertion that Schumacher's notoriety somehow means the public has a right to be informed about his medical condition.

That bizarre sense of entitlement...

I do feel strongly that there’s an implicit contract, whose terms are negotiated in real time, between celebrities and their public...it seems a bit one-sided to want the benefits of celebrity yet retain all the perquisites of a full private citizen outside of, say, the circuit.

...and willingness to engage in rank speculation...

Michael is almost certainly still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). I say this primarily because it is rather likely that he still requires this level of care given his injuries, but also because had he been moved from the ICU to a normal room, this would have been sufficiently newsworthy to have almost certainly been announced.

...paint a picture of a man who seems to be promoting his own interests first and foremost, because he knows nothing at all about the specifics of Schumacher's case, yet he has the gall to talk about it anyway. It wouldn't matter if this guy was the most accomplished neurologist in the history of neurology, information derived from press releases, or inexplicably surmised by a lack thereof, will always be totally meaningless.

In medicine, minute details are hugely important, and I think anyone without them should probably refrain from any speculation that can possibly be construed as authoritative.

[Vettel Maggot]

I think the we should all be a little more cautious. He has left intensive care, that is fantastic, however it is not like he has just strolled out the doors and now everything is back to normal. It is still a long road from here, let's hope he eventually returns to his 'normal' state.

[Cam]

I've not followed his blog except for the beginning of this saga, around about the time he made the creepy assertion that Schumacher's notoriety somehow means the public has a right to be informed about his medical condition.

That bizarre sense of entitlement...

I disagree with you on this one bhall. I get you feel strongly about it though. Personally, I agree that very public figures are open to public scrutiny. You cannot expect to promote yourself as a 'global brand' then expect to turn it off when it suits. Thousands, if not millions of people worship the man. They follow every movement, update, buy the watches, the shirts, the caps, the magazines etc. what he does, where he goes and who he hangs with are important. He is global news.

They need the media to build their brand and to profit from it. Fair enough too. So it's open slather if you choose that world - you know what it's going to entail well before you enter it. Family is off limits - but themselves - have at it.

Now I will stop short of agreeing with people bursting into his room for camera pics on his bed. That's not on. But some kind of regular updates should be supplied. If not, we can hardly bemoan when people speculate. You can't have it both ways.

If you want the fans to be there during the good - expect them be there during the bad too.

Personally - I wish him all the best and hope he can make a full recovery.

[Kiril Varbanov]

I'm with you, @bhall.

And since I'm known for being unable to keep my mouth shut - who cares what a former doctor has to say, really? He has been all over the media telling how bad the Schumacher's case is going to end up. Sure, we all kinda sense that. Was it necessary to speculate about his (MSC's) condition without seeing a single medical document? Come on, let's be serious and try to separate the small talk and the facts. Fact is, none of us has seen solid information (epicrisis). Not even Gary H.

He has just fulfilled the role of public adviser given the sensitive nature of the accident and given who was below the helmet. All he had to do was to try to be as objective as possible and to prefix any of his sentences with: "I haven't seen his medical documents, so I can only speculate".

I strongly disagree with the 'public' nature of the matter. I can tell, from personal experience, that being recognizable isn't always a good thing and no, you don't owe anything to the public, apart from doing your job. MSC did his job, when he had to, but when the accident happen, he was on private vacation, I repeat, private. Leave him alone, he knows what he's doing.

All the best, Michael. And God knows that I don't even like you, but you are a human being and you deserve normal life.

[Tim.Wright]

I've not followed his blog except for the beginning of this saga, around about the time he made the creepy assertion that Schumacher's notoriety somehow means the public has a right to be informed about his medical condition.

That bizarre sense of entitlement...

I disagree with you on this one bhall. I get you feel strongly about it though. Personally, I agree that very public figures are open to public scrutiny. You cannot expect to promote yourself as a 'global brand' then expect to turn it off when it suits. Thousands, if not millions of people worship the man. They follow every movement, update, buy the watches, the shirts, the caps, the magazines etc. what he does, where he goes and who he hangs with are important. He is global news.

They need the media to build their brand and to profit from it. Fair enough too. So it's open slather if you choose that world - you know what it's going to entail well before you enter it. Family is off limits - but themselves - have at it.

Now I will stop short of agreeing with people bursting into his room for camera pics on his bed. That's not on. But some kind of regular updates should be supplied. If not, we can hardly bemoan when people speculate. You can't have it both ways.

If you want the fans to be there during the good - expect them be there during the bad too.

Personally - I wish him all the best and hope he can make a full recovery.

Nobody forces the fans to see someone perform. They paid their money and attention to him and in return he gave them performances that you see rarely in a lifetime. Nobody owes anything extra to anybody in this case.

To think that he somehow owes something to his fans now is just ridiculous.. really...

[Steven]

Amazing what I have read here in the last three pages.

Contrary to what many do wish to believe, Michael is not going to be jumping around like he was any time soon, as unfortunate as that may be. I would very much like this to be otherwise, but there are no signs of it being any different. As said before by Ennis, Michael has been, by definition, out of a come for a longer while (since half April as far as we know), so it's not exactly news in itself. The statement that he's going to be moved from hospital is encouraging nonetheless, even though at his home or wherever he will be treated further, I'm sure he'll get the very best care that is available on this planet.

I can also understand some of you dismissing Gary Hartstein's view, and indeed the quotes put up by bhall reduce the credibility of his posts, but please do not forget he is an experienced brain surgeon and has a much clearer view on things than us, even though he's also basically working with the same information as we all have. The difference however is his ability to interpret things based on his experience, education and studies. That can hardly be underestimated, and frankly, from all outsiders, he's probably the best reference we have.

[bhall]

I’m not a journalist, and I’m not a PR/communications professional. But I totally fail to see how the current comms policy helps either Michael or his family. I fail to see how talking to us about the significant ups and downs of this long hard process damages Michael’s privacy or makes Corinna and the kids’ journey more difficult. I cannot possibly understand the reasons for any of this. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it. This is totally unfair to the people who made Michael the celebrity he is. The people who vibrated to his victories, and were saddened by his defeats. They deserve to be told something. I didn’t say it’s their right to know (although jurisprudence places looser limits on celebrities’ “privacy” than on that of “normal” citizens); rather I said they DESERVE to know. Why on earth is their pain not being considered? How is keeping the millions of fans in the dark helping ANYTHING?

[Steven]

If there really was great progress, I'm sure we would have heard.

[alexx_88]

However, I think he is right in the fact that putting out periodical press releases by Schumi's manager can't hurt anyone and can hardly be called "making a show" out of the events. It would just dismiss all the stupid rumors that appear because of lack of real information.

[bhall]

If there really was great progress, I'm sure we would have heard.

That's sorta how I see it, too. We'll know something when there's something for us to know. Everything in the meantime has the appearance of TMZ-style rumormongering designed to elicit page views from folks who lack the capability to accept or understand that there's nothing to report.

EDIT: I've said more than enough here. It's equally inappropriate for me to use this to peddle my views on privacy and dignity. My apologies.