---

Michael Schumacher has "blinked" and is "responding to simple instructions".

Those are the latest unofficial developments to emerge from the Grenoble hospital, after the F1 legend's manager confirmed reports doctors are attempting to ease Schumacher out of his month-long coma.

France's L'Equipe, having broken the news about the awakening process, now reports on Thursday that the great German has "blinked" his eyes as Dr Emmanuel Gay performed neurological reflex tests.

And Britain's Sky News quoted unnamed sources as saying the former Mercedes and Ferrari driver was now "responding to simple instructions".

Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm, however, told the German news agency DPA that she would not "give information about intermediate steps", having confirmed officially that doctors were trying to wake the 45-year-old.

And Grenoble neurosurgeon Stephan Chabardes, who on Wednesday confirmed the awakening reports before they were officially confirmed, also was not commenting on Thursday's latest developments.

"Please note that I will not comment for reasons of medical confidentiality," he is quoted by the German newsmagazine Focus.

---

---

Michael Schumacher was thrown 34 FEET when he hit rock and then smashed head on second boulder

Feb 17, 2014 11:10
By Natalie Evans

The horrific details emerged as it was announced French investigators have ruled out any criminal wrongdoing in the freak accident
No criminal wrongdoing: Schumacher crashed at Meribel in December

French prosecutors have ruled out any form of criminal action against the ski resort where F1 hero Michael Schumacher smashed his head on a rock putting him into a life-threatening coma.

The seven-times world champion was catapulted over 34 feet when he hit one rock and then smashed his head on a second on the alpine slopes in the French ski resort of Meribel seven weeks ago.

The horrific details emerged as it was announced French investigators have ruled out any criminal wrongdoing in the freak accident.

Prosecutor Patrick Quincy, in charge of the inquiry, ruled “no infraction by anyone has been turned up”.

He cleared the resort of any wrongdoing as he closed the investigation.

M. Quincy said the accident occurred just over 14 feet from the edge of the ski run in an off-piste area and the resort had conformed to the French standards for marking ski runs.

He said: “No one was found to have committed any offence. The accident occurred in an off-piste area. The signage, marking, and, marker poles in the snow and information provided about the edge of this slope were all consistent with French standards in place.”

He said the rock that caused him to lose balance and the rock on which he struck his head “are 10.40 metres from each other and both are located at 4.50 metres from the boundary of the piste”.

But his decision does not prevent Schumacher’s family from taking civil action.

Schumacher, 45, suffered his life-threatening accident while skiing with his 14-year-old son Mark at the resort where he owns a chalet.

He remains in intensive care as doctors try to ease him out of an artificially-induced coma.

An investigation into the crash was launched immediately, in normal practice for accidents of such gravity.

It was conducted by mountain police in Bourg-Saint-Maurice who examined the terrain and the signs on the ski runs, as well as gendarmes in Meribel and Albertville.

Experts from ENSA, the ski and climbing academy in the French ski resort of Chamonix, performed tests on his equipment including his skis, bindings, ski boots and a piece of his helmet.

Tests were also conducted to see if the presence of his camera on his helmet had weakened the structure causing it to shatter so dramatically.

But his equipment was not found to be faulty in any way.

Schumacher had been skiing on the piste with his son and family friends.

But shortly after 11am he “deliberately” skied on to a patch of off-piste located in between two runs “with a number of dangers, notable rocks”, said investigators.

It was then he struck a partially-covered rock. Although not skiing fast, he lost control and catapulted on to another rock.

Lawyers had argued that managers of the ski resort might face up to three years in prison because the dangers lurking within the off-piste section were not properly marked.

But, presenting initial findings 10 days into the investigation, police chief Stephane Bozon said: “The piste markers conformed to the regulations.

“Unfortunately this off-piste area had a number of dangers, notably the rocks being only barely visible, covered with five to 10 cm of snow because of the poor snow.”

Quincy, a former policeman who has been the prosecutor at Albertville since 2009, added that all safety procedures by mountain authorities “had been respected”.

The resort hired a top lawyer, Maurice Bodecher, who is a specialist in ski and criminal law. Up until 2010 he was the head lawyer for the French Ski Federation.

The footage from Schumacher’s helmet camera, which includes audio, was minutely analysed by N-Tec, a research division within the police at Albertville that specializes in new technology.

The seven-time world champion is receiving round-the-clock care in intensive case in Grenoble University Hospital.

Wife Corinna, 44, with whom the champion also has a daughter, Gina Marie, 16, has remained at his bedside.

His family issued a statement last week saying that they “strongly believe” he will recover. But they admitted he was “still in a waking-up process”.

The family said the most important element of his recovery was not the speed but that it progressed in a “continuous and controlled way”.

The update came in the wake of reports that Schumacher had contracted pneumonia.

The statement said: “Michael’s family would like to again express their sincere thanks for the continuous sympathy coming from all over the world. The good wishes they receive help the family and we are convinced they also help Michael, who still is in a waking up process.

“As often in such situation, no day is like the next. The family is thankful for ones understanding that they would not wish to disclose medical details in order to protect Michael’s privacy.

“As assured from the beginning we will continue to communicate any decisive new information on Michael’s health state. We are aware that the wake up phase can take a long time.

“The family continues to strongly believe in Michael’s recovery and place all their trust in the doctors, nurses and nursing auxiliaries team.

“The important thing is not the speed of the recovery but that Michael’s healing process progresses in a continuous and controlled way.”

Schumacher receives food through a tube to his stomach, oxygen via a hose from a machine next to his bed as he still cannot breathe independently. Three times daily his joints and muscles are massaged to prevent atrophy and bed sores.

The coma suppressed his swallowing reflex, pain perception and his respiratory drive. He has to be acutely monitored around the clock during this wake-up phase to see if such things are returning naturally - if at all.

His blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood straight up at times to keep blood flowing. He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores and his urinary tract is under constant vigilance because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing another potentially fatal infection.

---

---

Michael Schumacher and the ‘exploding’ ski helmet

Investigators now suspect that Schumacher's helmet camera could have actually worsened the blow, causing the helmet to shatter into pieces.

By Alexandra Williams, The Daily Telegraph February 17, 2014 7:22 AM

Almost two months after a skiing accident caused him to be put into a medically induced coma, Michael Schumacher’s friends are still at a loss to explain the life-changing consequences of the seemingly innocuous accident.

Schumacher, 45, an experienced skier, was travelling at a moderate speed when he fell and hit a rock. His skis were new; his bindings have been subsequently tested and were not at fault; he was fully in control of his movements as he left the marked pistes and traversed the patch of snow in between two groomed runs in Meribel.

But now investigators believe they may have found a reason for the seriousness of the injuries caused by the crash in the French Alps. They suspect that his helmet camera could have actually worsened the blow, causing the helmet to shatter into pieces.

Experts from ENSA, the world-renowned ski and climbing academy in the French ski resort of Chamonix, have conducted tests to determine whether the presence of a solid object between a helmet colliding with a rock would weaken the structure.

The helmet smashed, but the camera he had attached to it, in order to record himself and his son skiing, was undamaged. The footage, audio and visual, has provided police with crucial information.

“The helmet completely broke. It was in at least two parts. ENSA analyzed the piece of the helmet to check the material, and all was OK,” said a source close to the investigation.

“But why did it explode on impact? Here the camera comes into question. The laboratory has been testing to see if the camera weakened the structure.”

Patrick Quincy, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation into the accident, will make an announcement Monday.

He is expected to clear the ski resort of any involvement and conclude that the manufacturers of Schumacher’s ski equipment were not liable.

It was seven weeks ago today that Schumacher suffered his life-threatening accident while skiing with his son in the resort, where he owns a chalet in the private compound of Les Brames, just above Meribel.

He remains in intensive care as doctors try to ease him out of an artificially induced coma.

An investigation into the crash, conducted by mountain police in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and gendarmes in Meribel and Albertville, was opened the following day — as is usual in France for accidents of such gravity.

Schumacher had been skiing on the piste with his son and family friends. But shortly after 11 a.m. he “deliberately” skied on an off-piste stretch located in between two runs “with a number of dangers, notable rocks”, according to investigators.

It was here, no more than 20ft from the piste, that he struck a partially covered rock and then catapulted on to another, crashing his head with such force that his helmet split in two.

Lawyers had argued that managers of the ski resort might face up to three years in prison because the dangers lurking within the off-piste section were not properly marked.

The resort, in response, hired a top lawyer, Maurice Bodecher, who is a specialist in ski and criminal law and was until 2010 the head lawyer for the French Ski Federation.

But, presenting initial findings 10 days into the investigation, the police chief Stephane Bozon said: “The piste markers conformed to the regulations. Unfortunately, this off-piste area had a number of dangers, notably the rocks being only barely visible, covered with five to 10cm of snow.”

Mr Quincy, a former policeman who has been the prosecutor at Albertville since 2009, added that all safety procedures by mountain authorities “had been respected”.

Meanwhile, the seven-time Formula One world champion is receiving round-the-clock care in Grenoble University Hospital.

His wife Corinna, 44, with whom the champion has two children Gina Marie, 16, and Mick, 14, has remained at his bedside.

But they have said that he was “still in a waking-up process”, and that only time would tell whether he made a full recovery.

They said the most important factor was not the speed of his recovery, but that it progressed in a “continuous and controlled way”.

“Michael’s family would like to again express their sincere thanks for the continuous sympathy coming from all over the world,” they said in a statement. “The good wishes they receive help the family and we are convinced they also help Michael, who still is in a waking-up process.

“As often in such situation, no day is like the next. The family is thankful for understanding that they would not wish to disclose medical details in order to protect Michael’s privacy.”

Schumacher receives food through a tube to his stomach, and oxygen via a hose from a machine next to his bed, as he still cannot breathe independently.

Three times a day his joints and muscles are massaged to prevent atrophy and bed sores. The coma suppressed his swallowing reflex, pain perception and his respiratory drive. He has to be acutely monitored around the clock during this wake-up phase to see if such things are returning naturally — if at all.

His blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood up straight at times to keep blood flowing.

He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores, and his urinary tract is under constant vigilance because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing another potentially fatal infection.

His family added that they “strongly believe” he will recover.

There was concern last week when German newspaper Bild reported that the racing driver had contracted pneumonia. But on Friday the tabloid said that he had overcome a lung infection, and “won the fight”.

© Copyright (c) The Daily Telegraph

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

then again, the sport lost its allure for me when Senna died.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---