General
Update on Zanardi: "He spent the night stable"
- GPblog.com
Racing legend Alex Zanardi, who also became multiple paralympic champion after an accident in which he lost both legs, crashed heavily with his handbike on Friday. He hit an oncoming truck and has been in critical condition in the hospital ever since.
The 53-year-old Italian was successfully operated on his injuries that same evening, paying particular attention to his head. Saturday afternoon, the surgeon who operated on him, Dr. Guiseppe Olivieri, said that his situation after the operation was stable, but still critical.
During that press conference, he also told Associated Press, among others, a little more about the exact injuries that Zanardi had suffered. "He entered the hospital with a head trauma, a schattered face and a broken forehead bone. His neurological condition can't be properly assessed until he regains consciousness."
Situation not favourable, but not hopeless either
So his situation is critical, which means there is a chance that Zanardi will die, but according to Olivieri his situation is certainly not hopeless. "I've only told his wife that he's worth treating."
If Zanardi does wake up, it remains to be seen exactly how he will come out of this. Olivieri thinks it might take two weeks before he can say more about it, but the first prospects are not favourable. This is also clear from the words of the head of the IC department in Siena, Sabino Scolletta: "As far as brain damage is concerned, the situation is certainly critical."
Update Sunday 21 June: Zanardi's condition remains critical, but he spent a stable night at the hospital. The neuromonitoring that the hospital put in place in these cases has shown some stability, even if this data must be taken with caution because the neurological picture is wat remains naturally serious. Zanardi will remain in a coma for at least a few more days.