Schumacher exits critical period

MICHAEL Schumacher's chances of survival appeared to improve yesterday as he emerged from the initial, critical period of his hospitalisation.

MICHAEL Schumacher's chances of survival appeared to improve yesterday as he emerged from the initial, critical period of his hospitalisation.

Three days after his skiing accident in the French Alps, the former racing driver's condition was described as stable by Sabine Kehm, his manager.

"The good news is that we have nothing to say because nothing has changed," she said.

However, doctors say that only about a third of patients who suffer the same sort of injury as Schumacher resume a normal life. The majority suffer effects such as irritability, speech impediments, memory loss or paralysis.

Doctors say there is no way of knowing the impact on Schumacher, who won seven Formula One titles, until he is brought out of an induced coma. Doctors have not said when they will bring him round.

Schumacher, 44, is in Grenoble University Hospital Centre in eastern France under a general anaesthetic following Sunday's accident.

He has had two operations, the first hours after the crash to treat a subdural haematoma, a serious condition caused when blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain. On Tuesday surgeons removed a blood clot on his brain.

Corinna, his wife; his children, Gina-Maria, 16, and Mick, 14; Ralf, his brother; and Rolf, his father, are at his bedside.

Medical staff say that his life remains in danger. Yet at a press conference on Monday, Stephan Chabardes, the neurosurgeon who performed the first operation, said the initial period of his hospitalisation would be decisive. That period ended yesterday, raising hopes that Schumacher would survive.

The accident happened while Schumacher was skiing near his chalet in Meribel.

Mrs Kehm said he had been skiing with his son and friends, but she denied claims that his speed had been excessive. She said he had stopped shortly before the crash to help a friend who had fallen, and put the accident down to bad luck rather than bad judgment.

It has emerged that his helmet broke in two under the impact of the crash and that Schumacher arrived in hospital with a depression of the skull where he had hit his head on the rock.

Helmets go through crash tests to ensure that they protect the head at a speed of up to 35 kilometres per hour, prompting experts to say that he must have being going much faster than that. One source estimated his speed at more than 60kph. The average speed on pistes is France is 50kph.

Niki Lauda, the former Formula One champion, who was severely burnt in a crash in 1976, said that Schumacher's fate lay in God's hands, adding: "I cannot explain through logic why Michael didn't have an accident as a driver, but had an accident while skiing."

The Times