Being put in an induced coma is commonplace where head injuries are concerned if there is substantial bleeding internally. Relieving pressure on the brain is of paramount importance, and with modern techniques, it's almost routine nowadays. With the medical care he'll be getting, they will have been monitoring him closely over the past few hours and may well have decided to do this as a precaution.
Yes, I wasn't too worried until I read that he was actually already in a coma when he arrived at the hospital. So the concern will be how much bleeding/ pressure had built up en route to the hospital, before they were able to drill the burr holes. If there was a long delay, unfortunately brain damage could be an issue.
Its unbelievable really, the bloke spends 20 years in the most dangerous sport imaginable and then gets critically injured on a ski run.
I know ski-ing can be dangerous but its just extraordinary all the same.
Hope he gets better.
That may have been true of the sport when he started out - but I would say it is now , and was when he retired, a lot safer than skiing. When you look at some of the crashes that drivers walk away from, you can see that an exceptional set of circumstances and bad fortune would now be required for a fatality. Have seen the odd incident that could have ended badly so the sport still has its dangers, but skiing off piste is much more dangerous I suspect.
He doesn't strike me as a person who loses a battle so I expect him to win his fight for life.
I wish him a speedy and full recovery .... the irony .. years hurtling round race tracks in super fast cars without sustaining more than a scratch or two .. and then this
EDIT: Sorry to repeat in essence what Ormy wrote earlier ((:>)
Lot's of conflicting information floating around and add in the usual press sensationalism and it's hard to get the complete and true picture. It was originally said that he was conscious and talking on arrival at hospital. Then I read that he was in a coma on arrival. As stated above, being placed into an induced coma following brain surgery, is simply routine procedure. This however may be as serious as we fear if he had fallen into a coma before reaching the hospital.
Lot's of conflicting information floating around and add in the usual press sensationalism and it's hard to get the complete and true picture. It was originally said that he was conscious and talking on arrival at hospital. Then I read that he was in a coma on arrival. As stated above, being placed into an induced coma following brain surgery, is simply routine procedure. This however may be as serious as we fear if he had fallen into a coma before reaching the hospital.
He has been in two hospitals, so perhaps he was conscious at the first and then when he was transferred he was put into a coma?
I believe he was responsive at first and appeared relatively unharmed however he then worsened and went into a coma en route, hence the immediate surgery, and since has been kept in a maintained coma
Thankful that he was wearing head protection to have given him a chance of surviving this. I ski pretty much every week - cannot believe that people in this day and age don't wear helmets. Hoping MS pulls through.
Similar to what happened with Natasha Richardson. Head injuries are brutal to diagnose - you can look absolutely fine, but inside be bleeding on the brain with pressure building up in your skull. Hopefully they realised in time, or the scans were indicative enough to induce the coma before any lasting damage was done.
From what I've been told he fell in an area inbetween two pistes (one of which goes back to his chalet), I know it, it's dead simple but it gets skied out a lot and given the poor snow cover this season, even with a fresh dump it wouldn't be particularly well covered and would probably be quite clumpy, definitely a potential to have a few rocks buried by only a few cm. I had heard before today he fell in another area, skiing off of a path, which is a lot more difficult, but the pictures on the news this morning showing the helicopter would confirm that his fall was in first area. Great to hear of his improvement.
Comments
I know ski-ing can be dangerous but its just extraordinary all the same.
Hope he gets better.
I don't ski never have never will but if you do listening to that sentence and take care
He doesn't strike me as a person who loses a battle so I expect him to win his fight for life.
EDIT: Sorry to repeat in essence what Ormy wrote earlier ((:>)
Pray For Schumacher
hypothermia as well
Scumbags