Prepare for no info for a long time on Michael

[Scott]

I mostly agree with Chris Balfe's column on this, but I do have a small problem with the statement released by the Schumacher family.  It was empty.

What I mean is, as much as I completely understand the wishes of the family to keep the media away from Michael, and I strongly believe they should do just that, Michael was and is a very public personality, with millions of fans all over the world.  We all understand the tragedy that has taken place and the grim circumstances he has been in over these last months, and the desire of the family to deal with this mostly on their own.

However, the Schumachers must understand that the fans need some sort of closure, preferably with a bit more information.  Leaving it at nothing is a bit tough for a hard core fan to swallow.  In all honesty, if Michael has any chance to largely recover, it is not even necessarily what we want to hear.  That would be the kind of statement that would cause the media to camp outside his hospital for an eternity.

I believe the best thing the Schumachers could have done was to issue a statement saying that Michael's condition has gradually changed to a limited consciousness and slight ability to communicate with his family, but that they do not expect much improvement beyond that for the foreseeable future and they are preparing for a long term assisted life situation for him.

That would close it down for me.  I wouldn't be trying to find out what is new with Michael, I would accept that he is likely going to be in an assisted life situation until he passes away.  I would be sad about that, but I would have a type of closure.

As it stands, I hear that he will be going into various phases of therapy, with specialists and that everyone will be working as hard as they can to bring him to the next stage of his recovery.  To me, that means updates, yet the family has said that there will be no updates. 

My way would allow the family to go through this alone, without the media scrutiny and if, somehow, some day down the road, there was a big enough improvement that Michael could once again adorn the spotlight and want to see his public, then that would be almost miracle-like, and I would be thrilled beyond belief.

As it stands, I am hungry for more, and will sadly probably look at one of the eventual spy shots that will come from somebody's phone or whatever, because I don't have enough information for closure.

Here is Chris's article.

http://www.pitpass.com/51839/We-dont-need-to-talk-about-Michael

[Jericoke]

I certainly agree with you Scott.

The Schumachers are in an impossible situation.  On one hand, they are fabulously wealthy because Michael is a public figure, which comes at a cost of privacy.  Turning their back on the public so they can handle the absolute horror of their lives does feel painful to the public.  We paid to see MS, why can't we see MS?

On the other hand, this is something necessarily private.  My knowing (or not knowing) doesn't help the family in any way.  Doesn't help MS in any way.  An ongoing media circus would be the worst thing for all involved, so whatever they can do to avoid it, the better.

In many ways, Schumacher has a way of leading F1, and sports as a whole, again.  If his future CAN remain private, then perhaps all future athletes in his situation (hopefully a very small number!) can expect to be treated the same.  It would be very simple for another fallen star's family to point to the Schumachers' quiet dignity and say 'that's how it is for us too'.