Michael Schumacher
Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher would have been secretly admitted to a hospital in Paris to receive innovative stem cell therapy, according to a French newspaper report.
Citing strict French medical privacy laws, the hospital management said it could not comment on the information published by Le Parisien, according to which Schumacher was hospitalized under strict surveillance on Monday at the Georges-Pompidou center to undergo stem cell transfusions.
According to the newspaper, it is expected that the 50-year-old former pilot will be discharged on Wednesday. The transfusions would help reduce inflammation, it added.
Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, did not respond to an email requesting comments.
Schumacher, who set records with 91 Grand Prix victories during his stellar career, suffered a near-fatal brain injury in a ski accident in the French Alps in 2013.
The former pilot's condition stabilized after an induced coma, from which he woke up later. In September 2014, the German was transferred to his home on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Le Parisien, citing unidentified sources, said that Schumacher has already been treated at least two more times at the Georges-Pompidou hospital, where he always entered under a false name and was attended by a small team of doctors.
The newspaper published an image of a yellow and blue ambulance with Geneva license plates that, it said, took Schumacher to the hospital on Monday afternoon. Once at the center, he was transferred to a cardiovascular unit on the first floor on a stretcher and with a dark blue fabric covering his face and body, it pointed out.
About 10 security agents, some with helmets, were guarding the patient, the newspaper reported.
Schumacher's family fiercely protects their privacy. The thick forest surrounding their home, which is also protected by high walls, turns the house into a fortress against the curiosity of fans and the media. (D)
