Professor Payen gives news about Michael Schumacher

For the first time in many months, Professor Payen from the Grenoble University Hospital spoke about his most famous patient, Michael Schumacher, detailing his care within the hospital after his ski accident last December. “Nobody is prepared for such a media onslaught. We quickly organized by creating a sort of ‘medical bubble’ to protect ourselves from the outside world, from this media pressure, in order to be able to work properly. Certainly, security measures were taken to prevent any intrusion into our unit, but otherwise, Michael Schumacher was treated like any other patient in terms of therapeutic choices and decisions we made. In the intensive care unit, he was alongside other patients. We don’t have VIP rooms,” he notably shared in the columns of the Parisien published this morning.

Jean-François Payen notably visited his patient at his bedside in Lausanne, then at his Swiss home: « Yes, I first went to see him at the hospital in Lausanne when he left the Grenoble University Hospital in June, and then at his home. To observe his progress and share it with his wife and children »

Even though the recovery process for the German champion is likely to be very long, in terms of years, the French professor confirms that Schumacher has indeed come out of the coma: « I am bound by medical confidentiality. All I can confirm is that he is no longer in a coma. Now we must be patient. We are looking at a timeline of one to three years. »

However, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion is in perfect condition, at his home, to continue his rehabilitation, surrounded by his family and loved ones: [His wife] is someone with an extraordinary determination to help her husband progress. She was immediately aware of the seriousness of the situation and the long path she has to travel with him. She is clear-sighted and will do everything, give everything, so that her husband can move forward.