EVERYBODY CANT SKI in a BUFFALO HERD

A lot of drivers try a lot of off the wall stuff during the off season but Michael Schumacher kinda slipped off track as you will read below, sure hope he comes out of this -- Yall need to call on the big guy to say a good prayer for him --------

CNN) -- Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula 1 history and one of the world's highest-profile athletes, remains in critical condition after suffering severe head trauma in a skiing accident in the French Alps, hospital officials said Monday.

Doctors who have been treating Schumacher at the University Hospital Center of Grenoble said at a news conference that it was too early to say what the driver's prognosis might be.

In a prepared statement, Schumacher's family thanked doctors for doing "everything possible to help Michael." They also thanked people around the world for the outpouring of support.

The German, who retired from the elite motorsport for the second time in 2012, fell and hit his head on a rock Sunday, said the director of the Meribel resort where Schumacher was skiing.

Schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and required immediate brain surgery, officials said. So far, he has undergone one operation and is being kept in a coma, they said Monday.

Schumacher, who turns 45 Friday, won a record seven world titles in his spectacular Formula 1 career and "also holds nearly every scoring record in the book by a considerable margin," according to the motorsport's official website.

He dominated the competition for the best part of a decade, winning five world championships in a row between 2000 and 2004.

Schumacher suffered serious injury once during his career in the high-speed sport, breaking his leg in a crash at the British Grand Prix in 1999.

That's very sad. Praying for recovery.

Praying here as well. I have a new friend, 13 years old, who is into F1 racing as I have always been about stock car racing. He is a walking reference book on the F1 series. He is really taking this news hard.

UPDATE on condition

Retired ex-Formula One champ Michael Schumacher was stable overnight but remained in critical condition following last weekend's ski crash that left him with a brain injury, his manager said Wednesday.

Retired ex-Formula One champ Michael Schumacher was stable overnight but remained in critical condition following last weekend's ski crash that left him with a brain injury, his manager said Wednesday.

The 44-year-old German driver's condition has not changed since doctors said he showed small signs of improvement on Tuesday, according to Sabine Kehm.

"The good news for today is ... there's no significant changes," Kehm told reporters gathered outside the hospital in Grenoble, France, where Schumacheris being treated. "However, it is still very early, and the situation overall is critical."

The 44-year-old German driver's condition has not changed since doctors said he showed small signs of improvement on Tuesday, according to Sabine Kehm.

"The good news for today is ... there's no significant changes," Kehm told reporters gathered outside the hospital in Grenoble, France, where Schumacheris being treated. "However, it is still very early, and the situation overall is critical."

Retired ex-Formula One champ Michael Schumacher was stable overnight but remained in critical condition following last weekend's ski crash that left him with a brain injury, his manager said Wednesday.

The 44-year-old German driver's condition has not changed since doctors said he showed small signs of improvement on Tuesday, according to Sabine Kehm.

"The good news for today is ... there's no significant changes," Kehm told reporters gathered outside the hospital in Grenoble, France, where Schumacheris being treated. "However, it is still very early, and the situation overall is critical."

New update

According to Huffington Post UK on Thursday, the German magazine Focus spoke with experts on Schumacher's condition and reported that Schumacher could be in a coma forever" . In addition, The Daily Mail reported doctors in France told the German newspaper Bild that Schumacher's condition is so grave there are currently no plans to wake him .

It is that fact that presents the biggest risk, even if Schumacher does awaken, The Times (UK) reported. "If Schumacher survives, he will not be Schumacher," Dr. Richard Greenwood, an acute brain injury specialist from University College London Hospital, told the paper. "He will be [a regular Joe] Bloggs. His rehabilitation will only be effective if he comes to terms with being Bloggs and fulfils what Bloggs can do."

The biggest concern for doctors when it comes to patients in forced comas is that oxygen to the brain is reduced in a coma, and the longer the patient remains in a comatose state, the more likely long-term effects such as brain and organ damage are sustained.

The Daily Mail quoted German professor and neurological expert Gereon Fink as saying, "If the injuries are so severe that it would harm the patient, he is kept longer in the medically induced coma. Depending on where bleeding has taken place can lead to unilateral paralysis, speech disorders or personality changes."

this is definetly not good

It's ironic that after a career in auto racing that this should happen while he was on holiday. Formula One is relatively safe compared to other forms of motorsports but he raced for several years in more fragile cars before reaching that level. In addition, he retired for four years, then came back for another three. he only just retired again at the end of 2012.

I didn't like Schumacher at all, but I would never wish permanent harm on someone. He was a dirty driver but extremely good at development and testing and could take a lot of responsibility for the strength of Ferrari during his time there. That's largely why Mercedes accepted him when he came out of retirement; he was really too old to run at the front consistently.

Like many racers, it seems that he was addicted to running on the edge. He raced motorcycles after his first retirement and was an avid skier with a taste for the dangerous runs. He wasn't reckless though. I don't know if there is such a thing as a reckless German. He has lots of money and there's probably national health care so he'll be taken care of better than most retired racers.