Philippe Bianchi: “We are living a nightmare”
The father of Jules Bianchi, Philippe, spoke about his son's health condition and the care he is currently receiving at the hospital in Yokkaichi, Japan. Uncertainty still looms over a possible change in the condition of the French driver, who was seriously injured in Suzuka two weeks ago.
The wait is very long and especially unbearable for the family of Jules Bianchi, still hospitalized in Japan following his serious accident that occurred during the race in Suzuka two weeks ago.
The father of the French driver, Philippe, confided about his son’s condition in the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport, stating that he was fighting very hard against death: « He won’t give up. I’m sure of that. I believe it. I talk to him, I know he can hear me. His doctors have already said it’s a miracle. No one can survive such a severe accident. He won’t give up. His trainer, Andrea, tells us that if there’s one person who can do it, with his willpower, it’s Jules. »
Despite this determination to always have hope, the horror of the situation does not prevent Philippe Bianchi and his family from being realistic about Jules’ condition: « The situation is desperate. Every time the phone rings, we know it could be the hospital calling to announce Jules’ death. »
The outpouring of solidarity that has occurred since this terrible accident has deeply touched the family of the French driver, as Philippe Bianchi wanted to emphasize: “I have never seen anything like this. It really touches us deeply. We want to thank each and every one of them. Many have reached out to us, writing to us: Alonso, Jean-Eric [Vergne], Massa, have sent us strong messages. Hamilton sent us a very touching email in which he said that if he could do anything for us, he would. Rossi and Marquez from MotoGP as well.”
The Bianchi family does not rule out, if Jules’s condition improves, transferring him to another hospital where communication with the doctors, who do not speak English, would be easier: “It’s hard. In one week, a family’s situation has been destroyed. We are living a nightmare very, very far from home. But when Jules gets a little better, we can transfer him, maybe to Tokyo, and things will then be easier. But who knows when that will happen, if it will happen. We have no certainty; we just have to wait.”
The parallel between the recent situation of Michael Schumacher and that of Jules seems evident. Philippe Bianchi now terribly understands better what the family of the seven-time German world champion went through: I was very sad when he was injured. And I was wondering like everyone else: ‘Why aren’t they giving more news?’. But now that I’m in the same position, I understand better. Everyone asks me how Jules is doing, but I still have no answer to give. It’s very serious, but his condition is stable. One day he seems to be doing better, another day it’s worse. The doctors say nothing. The damage from the accident is very severe, but we don’t know how it might evolve. Even with Michael Schumacher, it took months before he came out of the coma. Jean Todt said he hoped he could live a normal life one day. I hope we can say the same for Jules.
