The most tragic anniversary for Schumacher: ten years after his accident, how is he today?

On December 29, 2013, Schumacher was skiing with his family, as was their tradition during the winter holidays, at the Méribel resort in the French Alps, where he had a private residence. In one section of the excursion, the seven-time world champion stopped to help a friend who had fallen, and to get back on track he decided to cross a dangerous area full of stones between two tracks.

“You don’t go in there on a day like that,” explained a ski instructor consulted by the press, in reference to the fact that it had snowed little in the previous days and therefore the rocks were more exposed, although many of them hidden under a thin layer of snow.

“Even on the slopes there were not ideal conditions for skiing. It was very dangerous to venture off-piste on a day like that,” the instructor added.

According to the official story, Schumacher crashed into a rock in that area, hitting his head first.. His helmet, which broke instantly, prevented his immediate death, although the metal mount of his GoPro camera stuck in his skull, which would have caused severe damage.

One of those in charge of helping the Formula 1 driver, Stephane Bozon (commander of the ski resort), said: “We received the call from the mountain rescuers who cared for Schumacher on the slope. They told us that he landed on his head and suffered a serious injury to his head. I immediately dispatched the helicopter”.

“I still remember that the helicopter emergency doctors had problems on the slopes because of the accident area,” Bozon added.

The helicopter initially headed to the small hospital in the French city of Moutiers, although during the journey the condition of a previously conscious Schumacher worsened drastically. Once the German lost consciousness and needed to be intubated, the transport changed course to a specialized clinic in Grenoble.

In this specialized care center, Schumacher underwent surgery the next day to treat intracranial pressure and brain hemorrhage, but doctors found serious injuries to the brain, so it was decided to induce a coma.

Despite showing a slight improvement in the first hours, the German underwent surgery two weeks later with the aim, again, of lowering his intracranial pressure.

Michael Schumacher left the Grenoble hospital in September 2014, and from that moment His family mounted a strict operation to prevent information or photographs from circulating about his condition..

Schumacher’s current status, a mystery

Since that moment there has been little evidence of a significant improvement in Schumacher’s condition, and even one of his doctors, Nicola Acciari, commented: “The goal is to regenerate Michael’s nervous system. Although there is small progress, it is impossible to say how much he can recover. “Brain injuries are always unpredictable, and he spent a lot of time in a coma.”

“I miss the Michael of yesteryear. Life is unfair from time to time. Michael was very lucky throughout his life, but then this tragic accident happened. It has been a significant experience for me but, of course, even more so for his children. Life is sometimes unfair. That day brought a lot of bad luck. This destiny has changed our family,” he said.

Schumacher lives in seclusion in a lakefront house in Geneva, Switzerland, where he usually receives very few visitors such as those from Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, who said: “Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. He’s just not the Michael he used to be.”

“His life is different now and I have the privilege of sharing moments with him. That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago. He is no longer the Michael we knew in Formula 1,” Todt added. .

While Ralf, Schumacher’s brother, expressed: “I miss my Michael from then. Life is sometimes unfair, Michael had often been lucky in his life, but then came this tragic accident. His accident was a painful and drastic experience for me.”

While Bernie Ecclestone, former boss of Formula 1, declared: “Schumacher is not with us at the moment”, referring to a mantra that the family has practically made official: they miss Michael, the person he was. Now he is different, and even though he is physically present, they cannot maintain a normal relationship with him.