New Dehli, Feb 13- Pneumonia is among the greatest life threatening conditions that has afflicted stricken Formula One champion Michael Schumacher who is under going treatment at University Hospital in Grenoble, France, German media reported on Wednesday.
Schumacher has now been comatose for 46 days since being airlifted from the ski slopes of the French resort of Meribel after smashing his head on to a rock. His immune system is seriously weakened and the fear of multiple organ failure can not be ignored.
The lack of a competent swallowing mechanism can make saliva run into the lungs and trigger the potentially lethal respiratory infection.
So far, there have been no facial or bodily responses to his environment, according to medical sources, as his reflexes are tested on a daily basis. He receives food through a tube to his stomach, oxygen via a hose from a machine next to his bed as he still cannot breathe independently. Three times daily his joints and muscles are massaged to prevent atrophy and bed sores.
Schumacher’s blood is also thinned to prevent thrombosis and he is regularly turned and even stood straight up at times to keep blood flowing. He lies on a special air-filled mattress to prevent pressure sores and his urinary tract is under constant vigilance because of the danger of waste bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing another potentially fatal infection.
-Indiatoday
