Michael Schumacher. Photo: AP
When Michael Schumacher was brought out of his medically induced coma last week, six months after the skiing accident that almost killed him, it should have been a moment of joy for him and his beleaguered family. However, doctors said there is only a 10 per cent chance that the former F1 champion will ever regain full health.
As someone who knows what it’s like to survive a brush with death against seemingly impossible odds, I’d call that a good sporting chance.
Ten years ago, I collapsed at home with bacterial meningitis and went into a coma. By the time I was eventually discovered, I was barely breathing. My mother was told to make her way immediately to the hospital, if only to say goodbye. Doctors said I wouldn’t last the night.
Over subsequent days, my odds improved only slightly. Although I had responded to treatment for the meningitis and resulting blood poisoning, if I were ever to emerge from my coma, which was still thought unlikely, I would probably be – in the words of one specialist – “a vegetable”. My mother was then asked the question that no parent wants to answer: in that instance, would you be prepared to switch off his life support?