It has been ten years since Schumacher "disappeared": he is still in a coma, spending $140,000 a week

Live broadcast on December 29 It has been 10 years since F1 "King of Cars" Schumacher was involved in an accident while skiing.

Michael Schumacher was born on January 3, 1969 in Huerte, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and is a retired German Formula 1 driver. Schumacher is one of the greatest F1 drivers of the modern era, having set several F1 records in his career, including seven F1 Drivers' World Championships. In addition, he won 91 F1 titles, 65 pole positions, 155 podium finishes and 77 fastest laps.

Schumacher had retired at the end of the 2006 season, but due to Feli-Massa's injury in qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian season, Scuderia Ferrari announced that Schumacher would return from the 2009 European season, but Schumacher later announced that he had decided to cancel his plans to return to Hungary due to a neck injury.

At the beginning of 2010, Schumacher officially announced his comeback to join Mercedes, formerly known as Brown Racing. In October 2012, Schumacher announced that he would retire again at the end of the season.

On December 29, 2013, Schumacher was in an accident while skiing in the Alpins Mountains in France, hitting his head on a rock, and he was seriously injured and fell into a coma. On January 22, 2014, Schumacher fell into a coma for more than three weeks after a skiing accident, and his chances of waking up were reduced, and experts estimated that Schumacher could become a permanent vegetative state.

However, on April 5, 2014, Schumacher's spokesman announced the latest news that the car king, who had been in a coma for three months, gradually showed some signs of waking up. On June 16, 2014, Schumacher's spokesman, Ken, said that Schumacher had been released from a coma and transferred to a Swiss hospital after receiving treatment in France after a skiing accident.

On 31 July 2019, ahead of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, FIA President Jean Todd confirmed that Schumacher was awake and could watch Formula 1 live. The week before, at the 2019 German Grand Prix, his son Mick Schumacher had raced in the Scuderia Ferrari's F2004, which was almost invincible in 2004.

His brother Ralf Schumacher is also a Formula 1 driver and has competed in German touring car races in Germany, so Michael Schumacher is sometimes referred to as "Big Schumacher". His son, Mick Schumacher, has also become a Formula 1 driver since the 2021 season.

Timeline of Schumacher's skiing accident

December 29, 2013

Schumacher and his son fell while skiing in the French Alpins Mountains and suffered traumatic brain damage and fell into a coma after hitting the rock on their head. He was reportedly skiing outside the safe zone and was later discovered by two patrol officers and was airlifted to the hospital in Moutier within 15 minutes of the briefing, where he was transferred to the University Hospital of Grenoble where he underwent brain surgery and is in critical condition.

At 10:40 p.m. that night, the hospital statement confirmed that "Schumacher is in critical condition, suffering a severe blow to his head and is in a coma and requires immediate neurosurgery". Schumacher suffered an intracerebral haemorrhage and is still life-threatening.

December 31

His doctor announced that he had performed a second operation, and Schumacher's condition had improved slightly from the previous day, but he was still out of danger.

February 14, 2014

German media reported that Schumacher's condition showed no signs of improvement, and he also developed a lung infection.

June 16, 2014

Schumacher's manager issued a statement saying that Schumacher had woken up and had left the hospital in France and was transferred to a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he began a long period of rehabilitation.

December 2018

On the eve of Schumacher's 50th birthday, several media outlets reported that Schumacher now lives in his own home, is not bedridden, and does not need to be intubated to maintain his life, but still needs to receive very detailed care.

December 27, 2023

The Bild newspaper reported that Schumacher was being cared for around the clock by 15 people, and experts said he would have a difficult recovery

Cost of treatment

As of December 30, 2016, Schumacher returned home for treatment, and the weekly treatment cost was as high as 115,000 pounds, or about 1 million yuan. In the past three years, the total medical expenses spent on the injury have been as high as 13.8 million pounds, nearly 14 million pounds, or about 110 million yuan.

There are reports that Schumacher spends up to $139,000 a week on treatment.