(Photo credit: ph-stop/Flickr)
Recent news from Michael Schumacher’s family that the champion F1 racer has awoken from his coma has been met with great jubilation.
Doctors put Schumacher into an induced coma to help him recover from a serious head/brain injury he suffered during a family ski vacation in the French Alps last December. At the end of January, doctors took the step of slowly waking him up. Schumacher has been reportedly able to breathe independently, but he has a long recovery ahead of him, which could take months or even years.
The champion F1 racer was transferred to a Switzerland rehabilitation clinic near his home from the Grenoble university hospital in France. During the transfer, Schumacher was unable to speak, but he was able to communicate by nodding to doctors and ambulance staff and he also managed to keep his eyes open for a long period of time, according to the Telegraph. Schumacher has also responded to his wife’s voice, according to the Independent.
While brain injury survivors can improve their well-being overtime, it tends to be a long rehabilitation journey and even then, they may not make a full recovery, which was the case with Olympian downhill skier Dave Irwin. It took Irwin years to relearn the English language and be able to converse with others, but he still has a hard time holding multiple conversations at once and he still suffers from short-term memory loss.
Schumacher’s past experience of focused training and determination as an athlete will aid him with his recovery, a neurotrauma surgeon told CTV News, the extent of the damage he suffered still remains to be seen. But it’s unlikely he’ll make a full recovery with only one in ten patients regaining their past mental and physical abilities after waking up from a coma, say doctors quoted by the Independent.
Sports leagues are now realizing the danger of concussions, which has led to outcries for regulation changes and lawsuits from former players who suffered concussions while playing and their families have watched their lives and personalities change permanently since then.
Brain injuries are an ever-changing field with researchers currently looking to understand in more detail about how our brains are affected. A recent study conducted by hospital researchers in Toronto found that 45 per cent of homeless males who participated had suffered from a traumatic brain injury.
Sometimes brain injuries aren’t outright diagnosed and it’s important to understand how to handle someone who’s been affected. It’s a trying time for everyone involved, from the people recovering and their loved ones, and it’s why organizations such as the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST) and the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) work towards educating others.
June is Brain Injury Awareness month and the BIST has launched the Areyouaware.ca campaign to inform Canadians about the challenges faced by brain injury survivors and their loved ones.
If you have suffered a brain or spinal injury, your life might have significantly changed. Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers are here for you and have been handling all types of injuries for over 40 years. We understand the impacts they can have on you and we can help fight your case. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come chat with us.