Fabio Jakobsen crashed heavily in the bunch sprint of the first stage of the Tour of Poland. After a tough sprint duel with Dylan Groenewegen, he had to swerve and hit the fences. In the Leader’s jersey keeps track of the situation regarding the Dutch champion for you.
Update – August 5 (8.20 p.m.): Competition doctor explains Jakobsen’s condition
According to competition doctor Barbara Jerschina, Jakobsen is in serious condition and is not out of danger yet. She tells that to the Polish Naszosie. He has, among other things, severe head injuries. His heart worked really well. But he is fighting for his life. Let’s cross our fingers for him. He lost a lot of blood, ‘says Jerschina, who treated Jakobsen for a long time immediately after the fall. He was then taken to hospital, where he will undergo surgery. All major Dutch media (including De Telegraaf, AD and NOS) report that Jakobsen is being kept in an artificial coma.
Update II – 5 August (10.30 p.m.): Jakobsen’s situation ‘stabilized’
The situation of Fabio Jakobsen has been ‘stabilized’, reports journalist Raymond Kerckhoffs, among others, on the basis of statements by the assistant director of the hospital. The general situation would be stable, but the coming hours will be important in terms of the enormous injury that the Dutchman sustained. For example, there is serious facial and skull injuries and damage to the chest. There are no injuries to the spinal cord and brain.
The situation is described as ‘stable, but critical’. Better diagnoses can be made the next day. Deceuninck-Quick-Step has not yet made any official announcements about the condition of Jakobsen.
Update III – 6 August 2020 (12:14 a.m.): Jakobsen in an artificial coma
Fabio Jakobsen is stable, but is still in an artificial coma in the hospital. His team Deceuninck-Quick-Step announced this in a press release in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The injury is ‘serious’, but the team confirms that there is no brain damage or damage to the spine. He will be constantly examined in the hospital for the next days.
Update IV – August 6, 2020 (8:25 am): Jakobsen operated on for five hours
Fabio Jakobsen has had an operation of more than five hours, doctors at the hospital in Sosnowiec told Thursday morning. The sprinter’s condition remains ‘severe, but stable’. The damage to Jacobsen’s face is very serious. Patrick Lefevere states at the WE that Jacobsen “broke all the bones in his face.”
Furthermore, he cannot breathe very well due to damage to the chest. As mentioned earlier, no brain damage has been found. Jakobsen’s spine is also not damaged. He was supposed to be taken out of his artificial coma on Thursday, but later on Thursday, this was postponed to Friday, reports Sporza.
The big question is how Jakobsen gets out of his artificial coma. Attending physician Pawel Gruenpeter thumbs up: ‘I hope there is no damage to his nervous system. We must not forget that the patient was resuscitated for about an hour yesterday. ‘ His face is also in very serious condition, Lefevere outlines: ‘Fortunately no vital organs have been hit, but all the bones in his face are broken and he has lost all his teeth. It’s really bad. Perhaps it is fortunate that the doctors in the region where it happened have experience with serious accidents. ‘
Update V – August 7, 2020 (10 a.m.): ‘Facial bone trauma the worst’
The face of Fabio Jakobsen is the worst of all, said treating physician Pawel Gruenpeter at a press moment on Thursday evening. ‘The trauma to the facial bones is the worst injury. So the front of the head, around the eye sockets and the jaw. Fortunately the eyeballs are not damaged, but of course he will have to recover for a long time. ‘
On Friday, Jakobsen will in principle be taken out of his artificial coma and the doctors will know how he is really doing. ‘Then we can also start with a plastic surgery process, because we have that option here too.’ Gruenpeter is hopeful that Jakobsen will get out of this, because his heart functions independently and there is therefore no damage to his brain and spine. ‘He is a young, sporty man. Probably because he’s trained so well, he didn’t get a back injury or anything. ”
Update VI – August 7, 2020 (1.39 pm): Jakobsen awakens from a coma
Fabio Jakobsen has awakened from his artificial coma. The organization of the Tour of Poland announced this via the race radio during the third stage. The Dutchman has been kept in a coma since Wednesday. According to the latest information, Jakobsen is ‘in good condition’ according to circumstances.
To the Polish media present, doctor Pawel Gruenpeter explains that it looks good. ‘If he survives such a fall, then he will definitely return to the sport. We are very satisfied with how things are going. The patient is conscious, breathing independently, moving all limbs and communicating. It is not possible to talk alone ‘, it cites Algemeen Dagblad. Deceuninck-Quick-Step has announced that talking and eating will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future.
Update VII – 9 August 2020 (8 p.m.): Team doctor expects Jakobsen to become a rider again
Deceuninck-Quick-Step team doctor Yvan Vanmol is hopeful that Fabio Jakobsen will be able to continue his cycling career after his recovery. He tells that Sporza. ‘I do not dare to put a term on it, but we assume that Fabio will be a rider again. Vanmol mainly bases this expectation on the fact that the fall did not cause any damage to vital organs. “What we are still concerned about is the aesthetic damage and possibly the muscle group around his mouth.”
The shift doctor is also satisfied with the work of the Polish doctors. ‘I communicate with a very skilled doctor who also speaks English. The intervention team’s doctor also performed his job perfectly. Fabio did not resuscitate him, but he did intubate him (artificial respiration, ed.). ‘ Vanmol expects that Jakobsen can be transferred to the Netherlands in a week.
Update VIII – August 11, 2020 (2.09 pm): Jakobsen will fly to the Netherlands on Wednesday
Fabio Jakobsen will be flown to the Netherlands on a medical flight on Wednesday (August 12). That has RTBF heard from Patrick Lefevere. The latter is very relieved. “A week ago we thought he was going to die. So it is fantastic news that he can go to the Netherlands, closer to his family. ‘ The Dutch doctors will look at the best way to recover after this serious injury.
In an official update on the Deceuninck-Quick-Step site, about the condition of Fabio Jakobsen, more information was released: ‘Fabio Jakobsen is getting better and better. That is why he can be transferred to hospital in Leiden on Wednesday, where further follow-up treatment of his injuries will take place. ‘
Update IX – August 12, 2020 (2:04 pm): Jakobsen in hospital in Leiden further treated for injuries
The damage was and is enormous, but according to team doctor Dirk Vanmol of Deceuninck-Quick-Step we can speak of ‘a miracle’ that Fabio Jakobsen is doing as he is now. The Belgian seizes the opportunity Sporza use to describe the exact damage: ‘Immediately after the fall, the airways were intubated, but they were not crushed. Talking is not possible at the moment, but Fabio understands and understands everything ‘, it sounds. ‘No, I am not going to comment on deadlines. But if you ask me whether Jakobsen will become a rider again, I have very few doubts about that and more than good hope. ‘
Jakobsen can already stand upright and despite the damage to his face, Vanmol is positive. He now communicates through the screen of his phone. I certainly expect he will be able to speak again. The muscles around his mouth and lips have been badly hit, but that will be all right again. His legs have hardly been damaged. There is a fracture of a thumb and in his upper and lower jaw. His sinuses are intact, as are his eye sockets. He has no brain damage and is completely mobile, ‘says Vanmol. Jakobsen lost all his teeth, but that must be repaired surgically.
If there is more clarity, this message will be supplemented. We refrain from speculation and rely solely on official sources.
(Photo: Sirotti)
