Michael Schumacher’s Family Makes Rare Statement Ahead of His 50th Birthday

Michael Schumacher‘s daughter Gina-Maria is celebrating her dad’s milestone birthday.

Just hours after Schumacher’s family released a rare statement about his current condition and announced their plans to launch a new app for a virtual museum, his daughter posted a short and sweet tribute to her dad for his 50th birthday.

“Happy Birthday to the best dad,” Gina, 21, wrote on Instagram alongside three photos of the seven-time F1 champion.

Schumacher’s big birthday comes five years after he experienced a life-threatening incident.

On Dec. 29, 2013, Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident, which split his helmet as he crashed into rocks on the slope at Meribel ski resort in the French Alps.

Once admitted to the hospital, Schumacher’s doctors in Grenoble put him into a medically induced coma in a bid to reduce brain swelling. He awakened from the coma in June 2014 and was released.

Since then, the German racing driver’s family has chosen to keep his condition private as he receives specialist treatment at his home in Switzerland.

That is until Wednesday when Schumacher’s family issued a statement on his official Facebook page.

“We are very happy to celebrate Michael’s 50th birthday tomorrow together with you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts that we can do this together,” the family of the racing driver wrote.

Addressing Schumacher’s current condition, his family reassured his fans that “he is in the very best hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him.”

“Please understand if we are following Michael’s wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy. At the same time, we say thank you very much for your friendship and wish you a healthy and happy year 2019.”

His family also revealed plans to launch The Official Michael Schumacher App, which will allow fans to celebrate his success through a virtual museum.

“As a gift to him, you and us, Keep Fighting Foundation has created a virtual museum. The Official Michael Schumacher App will be released tomorrow, so that we can review all together Michael’s successes.”

Schumacher’s family, including his wife Corinna and son and fellow racing driver Mick, launched the Keep Fighting Foundation in 2016 with a goal to “channel the positive energy received by Michael Schumacher.”

“The app is another milestone to do justice to him and you, his fans, by celebrating his accomplishments. We wish you a lot of fun with it,” the statement continued.

“Michael can be proud of what he has achieved, and so are we!” they added. “That’s why we remember his successes with the Michael Schumacher Private Collection exhibition in Cologne, by publishing memories in social media and by continuing his charitable work through the Keep Fighting Foundation.

“We want to remember his victories, his records and his jubilation,” the family finished.