Schumacher family asks for privacy before his 50th birthday

GLAND, Switzerland — Michael Schumacher's family has asked for understanding as it continues to keep details of his health private ahead of the seven-time Formula One champion's 50th birthday.

In a statement published on Facebook on Wednesday, one day before his birthday, the family says: "You can be sure that he is in the very best of 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."

No details on Schumacher's current health were given. The former F1 champion suffered serious head injuries in an accident while he was skiing with his teenage son Mick in the French Alps at Meribel on Dec 29, 2013.