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Former F1 Champion Michael Schumacher Out of Coma and Hospital

By Andrew Coppens

Nov 18, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; Formula One driver Michael Schumacher (7) prepares to enter his car before the start of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; Formula One driver Michael Schumacher (7) prepares to enter his car before the start of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michael Schumacher lived life on the edge as a seven-time Formula One champion, but his life hung in the balance after a skiing accident in France last year. His injuries put him in a coma for nearly six months, but on Monday the AP reported Schumacher had emerged from his coma.

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Not only did Schumacher come out of a coma, he also has left the hospital entirely according to the AP report. Schumacher is instead heading to the Lausanne University Hospital, near the family’s Swiss home. 

Schumacher was hospitalized after falling and hitting the right side of his head on a rock at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps. His injuries caused blood clots, some of which were removed with surgery, but not all were able to be removed because of their locations.

Doctors then put Schumacher in a drug-induced coma to help ease the recovery process. They’ve slowly taken him off the sedatives since that time and this announcement shows Schumacher is able to support breathing on his own.

Little of Schumacher’s condition has been known since then, with just one statement released in April. In that statement, Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, announced “(he) shows moments of consciousness and awakening.”

The family did issue a statement today, thanking doctors and asking for privacy during the next portion of the recovery process.

From the statement:

"“(The 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 family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes. … We are sure it helped him. For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye.”"

Schumacher was an unparalleled driver in F1 history, winning the most titles by any one driver and collecting 91 career wins. He retired following the 2012 season as a member of the Mercedes team.