18.09.2020
09:08
The specialist Erich Riederer analyzed the state of health of the German multi-champion in a production that premiered on French television: “I think he is in a vegetative state, which means that he is awake but does not respond”
September 18, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
There is great secrecy about the health of Michael Schumacher (REUTERS / Dylan Martinez / File Photo)
Almost seven years passed, but the strict secrecy still continues. Since Michael Schumacher suffered a serious accident while skiing in the French Alps on December 29, 2013, little information has been leaked to the press regarding the health of the 7-time Formula 1 champion (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001 , 2002, 2003 and 2004). Only a select group of people have access to the athlete, after suffering a severe brain injury.
Last Wednesday, the French channel RMC Story launched an “unpublished documentary” entitled ” Michael Schumacher: in search of the truth . “ Its creators tried to expose the secrets that currently surround the pilot born on January 3, 1969 in Germany.
One of the most controversial voices is that of Erich Riederer , a renowned neurologist in Zurich. The specialist believes that Schumacher’s condition worsened due to the delay in the actions of the first doctors to treat him, who delayed the decision to perform the first surgery. “They waited too long to relieve the brain,” he said in the aforementioned publication that had repercussions in different newspapers around the world. It is worth mentioning that Riederer is not part of the medical team nor did he participate in the surgical intervention of the former F1 driver.
One of the focuses of the documentary is focused on the first hours after the accident that shocked the world. The first press conference was organized at the Grenoble University Hospital (located in Grenoble, department of Isère, France), where the neurosurgeon Stephan Chabardes indicated that the athlete had undergone an intracranial hematoma evacuation operation.
“Neurosurgeons always say ‘time is brain’, that is, we must act immediately, ” he explains. “In my opinion, it took too long for the brain to clear up. With the passage of time, you will destroy brain substances, ”Riederer, a specialist who works at the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group in Zurich, stated bluntly.
In his analysis, the doctor commented that the figure of Schumacher could have intimidated surgeons and this caused a delay in the time to perform a first operation (it was two hours after the accident). “If they waited too long? Probably yes, “he defined as the official portal of the channel in charge of the documentary replied.
“ I think he’s in a vegetative state, which means he’s awake but not responding. You are breathing, your heart is beating, and you can probably sit up and take small steps with someone else’s help, but nothing else. I think that’s the best, ”outlined the doctor. And then, when asked about the possibility of finding him as he was before the accident, he was blunt: “I really don’t think so.”
Michael suffered his serious accident on December 29, 2013 (Photo: AFP)
The German was in an induced coma for several months and, upon awakening in mid-2014, was transferred to a clinic to begin his rehabilitation. In September of that year, the family decided to continue the treatments in the privacy of their home in Switzerland. Schumacher’s environment has maintained an almost strict silence regarding the former pilot’s state of health. Few details of the painting were known and it was even transferred to Paris in strict secrecy to be treated with an innovative medical procedure in that country.
Another of the voices consulted in the documentary is that of Luc Domenjoz , a Formula 1 specialist and author of several books on the life of Michael Schumacher. “We imagine that life will end soon because your body will be too weak,” he said. “Michael Schumacher: the rise of a genius” (2002) and “Michael Schumacher: itinerary of a gifted person” (1997), are some of his works.
