Michael Schumacher Condition Update: Formula 1 Legend Has Gained Eye Movement and Some Memory

Jan 22, 2015 12:29 AM EST

It has been over a year since seven-time Formula 1 winner Michael Schumacher suffered his debilitating accident on a ski trip to the French Alps. We gave a condition update a month ago, Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, stated that "it was not possible to say how long it would take for Schumacher to fully recover" and that Schumacher "faced a 'difficult' and 'long' rehabilitation". 

Schumacher is not able to move, but he can communicate with others by opening and closing his eyes.  According to Breathecast, Schumacher became emotional when his wife and children spoke to him, but there has also been times when he failed to recognize them. Should Schumacher recover further, he will be required to be "tied to a wheelchair" and then undergo further and proper therapy so that he can move and walk by himself once again. 

For those who are unaware of Michael Schumacher's condition, his accident occurred on December 29, 2013 when he was skiing and struck a partially covered rock.  Schumacher then lost control and crashed into another rock, shattering his helmet.   He had a camera attached to his helmet that caught the footage of this collision, and it has been analyzed to show that the injury was indeed an accident.  This accident caused a lot of brain damage as well as a coma that he awoke from on April 4, 2014, a process of reawakening that actually began in January of that year. 

On the one-year anniversary of the accident, CNN reported a simple message for Michael Schumacher: keep fighting.  Schumacher's wife Corinna and two teenage children Gina Marie and Mick chose not to release a statement on the anniversary of his accident on December 29, 2014.  Schumacher's family was the center ring of a media circus, with the report of one journalist disguising himself as a priest to get access to Schumacher's bedside. 

Michael has been moved to his family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland after nine months of being hospitalized in France.  Schumacher's wife Corinna has been by her husband's side as much as she can.  The family, who has been provided for by Schumacher's earnings of over half a billion pounds, have access to numerous physiotherapists, doctors, nutritionists, and neurological experts. 

Before the anniversary of the Schumaker accident, his manager Sabine Kehm reported that Schumacher's family is "very happy and touched by the sympathetic messages" and that "positive energy does them good".   

Last November, the official Michael Schumacher website was relaunched in order to mark the 20th anniversary of the driver's first world championship.  The site provides visitors a place to send messages to his wife and kids called "How to Wish Michael Well".  Most of the official Michael Schumaker site is devoted to stories of him as a racing legend, but visitors can leave a personalized message by adding a hashtag of #keepfightingmichael to their tweets, which might take a while before it appears on the official site. 

For those who want to send a message to the Schumacher family, feel free to the previously mentioned website and follow the instructions.  You can also leave a comment after this article to spread more good wishes, and share this article to let more people know of Michael's condition and encourage both the legendary race-car driver and his family.