The surgeon who operated on Alex Zanardi says it won’t be possible to judge the extent of his injuries until he regains consciousness.
Doctor Giuseppe Olivieri told media at the Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena, where Zanardi is being treated, that the 53-year-old remains in a “serious but stable condition”, according to the Associated Press.“He arrived here with major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a deeply fractured frontal bone,” said Olivieri.
Zanardi has been in intensive care since Olivieri performed surgery yesterday evening.
“We won’t see what his neurological state is until he wakes up – if he wakes up,” Olivieri added. “Serious condition means it’s a situation when someone could die. Improvement takes time in these cases. Turns for the worse can be sudden.
“The operation went according to the plan. It’s the initial situation that was very serious.”
Zanardi was brought to the hospital by an air ambulance following an incident in a handbike event on Friday afternoon. The two-times CART IndyCar champion, ex-Formula 1 driver and four-times Paralympics gold medal winner was involved in a collision with a truck.
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Crrraaig (@crrraaig)
20th June 2020, 21:05
One time when I wish the Doc sugar coated it a bit…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th June 2020, 21:32
Heartbreaking news… I’ve always been a fan of him, but particularly this week I had him in my mind because he appeared on Beyond the Grid, the F1 podcast. They did the longest ever episode with him, and listening to his stories and the way he talked, I still haven’t finished it, but it made you feel like the guy was a friend. He has a certain way with words…
It’s truly devastating to hear now what happened to him and how his life is hanging by the thread again… I just hope the story ends up as brightly as in 2001…
JCCJCC
20th June 2020, 22:30
I still didn’t listened to his interview in F1 podcast. I think it will be weird to listen.
Alex was an example. Life was really hard on him and he always came back smiling and fighting. Let’s hope the same happens in this case.
Kurt Ronin
20th June 2020, 23:19
I meet the man during his CART days – gracious, happy, gregarious, charismatic and very nice. Hope he awakes and can continue his quest for speed!
Dane
21st June 2020, 2:03
Those injuries sound worse than Schumacher’s accident. If he pulls through this it will be a miracle, but if he’s pulled through major accidents already.