Key events since Schumacher's ski accident

Here are key events since an off-piste ski accident left German Formula One champion Michael Schumacher in a coma late last year. - December 29, 2013: Schumacher slams his head during a fall in a boulder-strewn section of the French Alpine ski resort of Meribel. He is wearing a helmet but it is smashed into two pieces and he is evacuated by helicopter. Professor Stephan Chabardes operates on Schumacher in Grenoble and places him in a coma, with a body temperature lowered to between 34-35 degrees C (93.2-95 F) owing to "serious brain trauma." - December 30: Schumacher is in a "life threatening" condition and has a second operation by neuro-surgeon Emmanuel Gay to treat bleeding in the brain. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman says she was "extremely shocked," and French authorities launch an investigation. - December 31: Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm tells massed media the race-car driver was skiing with friends and son Mick, and insists he was not going at high speed when the accident happened. - January 1, 2014: Kehm tells reporters that Schumacher's condition is "stable". The racing champion turns 45 the next day as fans stage a vigil outside the hospital. - January 4: A German airline steward tells Der Spiegel magazine that he filmed the accident by chance and that Schumacher was doing "20 kilometers/hour (12 miles/hour) at most." A day earlier, French daily Le Dauphine Libere says police have in hand a camera that was mounted on Schumacher's helmet. - January 6: Doctors say Schumacher's state is critical but stable, a source close to the family speaks of a "slight improvement". - January 7: Schumacher's wife Corinna, speaking publicly for the first time, asks media to "leave our family in peace." - January 8: Investigators ruled out faulty skis, inadequate signage or excessive speed as possible causes of Schumacher's accident.