Berlin: A former Formula One physician has cast doubt on Michael Schumacher’s chances of making a full recovery from his brain injuries, and has insisted that no false hopes should be raised about the motor racing champion’s condition.
Schumacher, 45, was transferred from Grenoble University hospital to a rehabilitation clinic in the Swiss city of Lausanne last week after spending nearly six months in an artificially induced coma following his off-piste skiing accident in France. His manager, Sabine Kehm, said Schumacher was “ no longer in a coma” and that he would begin a long process of rehabilitation in Lausanne, which is close to the Swiss home he shares with his wife and two children.
The driver cannot speak, but during his transfer to Lausanne he was said to have communicated with the ambulance crew by nodding. He also kept his eyes open for long periods.
However, Dr Gary Hartstein, the former Formula One doctor, has insisted that “no false hopes” should be raised about Schumacher’s chances of making a full recovery. In an interview with Germany’s Bunte magazine, Dr Hartstein said the driver’s fans were owed an honest assessment of his prospects. “I fear there will be no more good news,” he wrote earlier this month.
— The Telegraoh Group Limited, London 2014
