Double CART champion and former Formula One driver, Alex Zanardi, has woken from his medically induced coma and been informed of the horrific injuries sustained at last weekend's American Memorial in Germany where he was involved in a high speed accident that resulted in the loss of both legs. The Italian driver displayed the fighting spirit he is renowned for when his wife Daniela told him the news, stating that as long as he still had her and their son, three-year- old Niccolo, then it was going to be okay.
“She had just told Alex about his legs and he said that was OK, he didn't care because he still had her and Niccolo,” teammate Tony Kanaan explained. “That's the kind of spirit I expected from him.”
It has also been revealed that the Italian driver cheated death by a mere ten minutes and if it wasn't for the quick actions of the CART safety crew, he may not have had the chance to see his wife and son again. Fans knew the accident was extremely serious and that Alex's life hung in the balance in the days immediately following the accident after losing 70% of his body's blood supply.
“It was the equivalent to a military evacuation because it was just like he'd stepped on a land mine,” revealed Dr Terry Trammell. “Both femoral arteries were ruptured and Alex was bleeding profusely, he was in big trouble. I grabbed a belt from one of the safety workers and made a tourniquet for the left side and put a pressure dressing on the right side. Getting the bleeding stopped and maintaining an airway were the priorities, but we were really racing against time. At best, it was 50/50 whether he would be alive when he got to Berlin.”
“The ICU doctors at Berlin said that in another 10- 15 minutes they wouldn't have had a chance to save him, it was that close,” added Dr. Steve Olvey. “You couldn't have a better guy than Terry in a situation like that and he did a great job. He had the bleeding stopped, but Alex had lost 70 percent of the blood in his body and was still bleeding internally. He had four of five pelvic fractures, which causes bleeding, and a blood buildup around his liver. When you have massive hemorrhaging, it affects the ability of your blood to clot and you don't know what's going on inside. You can bleed to death internally, especially in Alex's situation.”
Now the long rehabilitation process begins, with continuing surgery to clean the wounds before being fitted for prosthetic limbs. Many ask what's ahead for Alex, however at this stage, all he really cares about is the fact that he is still going to be around to experience the joy of watching his small son grow up into a man.
Thats exactly why so many people rate Alex is highly. 
