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This is an update of my blog from earlier this week on the remarkable change for the better in the condition of "Mr. Hockey", Gordie Howe.
In an email to me last Monday, Gordie Howe's son, Mark, told me that his dad has taken a remarkable turn for the better over the last ten days since suffering a major stroke in late October which had left him bedridden, partially paralyzed, and unable to speak, after undergoing a combination neural stem cell spinal injection and mesenchymal stem cell intravenous infusion procedure on December 8 and 9 in a clinic in Tijuana, México. Since then, Mark told me, Gordie “is now talking again, walking as much as 30 minutes at a time, has regained his appetite, and is drinking plenty of fluids again.…
As recently as December 2nd, Gordie, who has also been suffering from dementia for several years, was hospitalized for several days because of severe dehydration before returning back to his daughter, Cathy’s, home in Lubbock, Texas where he has been staying since September after spending July and August with Mark in New Jersey. Mark and his two brothers, Marty and Murray, have also been spending considerable time with their 86-year old father in Texas since his October stroke.
“Dad’s motor skills are returning slowly and he is now able to feed himself again with his left hand,… Mark wrote to me, “while the right is still a work in progress. He is also speaking a bit again all be it softly, and his recognition of things and people has improved about 80%. It is truly remarkable. Both we and his therapist are completely blown away at what this most recent treatment has done for him. He is still feeble, but we were just hoping for some quality of life improvement and it has far exceeded our expectations. We are going to have a "miracle" Xmas at the Howe homes this year.…
On Thursday I sat for about an hour with Mark in the Wells Fargo Center pressroom before the Flyers/Panthers game in Philadelphia during which time he gave me a detailed update on Gordie's vastly improved condition, the procedure he underwent, and showed me many pictures and video's of Gordie both before and after undergoing the stem cell treatment. These images showed the changes to have been nothing less than miraculous! Late yesterday the Howe family -- Mark, Marty, Murray and Cathy -- released a statement detailing exactly what the procedure Gordie underwent entailed which I include here in it's entirety:
"Following the press coverage of our father’s deteriorating medical condition, the Howe Family was contacted in late November by Dr. Maynard Howe, (CEO) and Dave McGuigan (VP) of Stemedica Cell Technologies. McGuigan knew our family as a result of his previous employment with the Detroit Red Wings. Stemedica is a biotechnology company that manufactures allogeneic adult stem cells in its US government licensed, cGMP facility in San Diego, California. Although no relation, Dr. Howe and his brothers Drs. David and Roger are hockey players and big Gordie Howe fans, having grown up in Minnesota. They wished to help our father by generously facilitating Dad’s participation in a stem cell clinical trial at Novastem, a licensed distributor of Stemedica’s products in Mexico.
"Novastem is currently conducting federally licensed and Institutional Review Board approved clinical trials for several medical conditions, including stroke, using Stemedica’s stem cell products. At the time we were contacted, Mr. Hockey had been rapidly declining and was essentially bedridden with little ability to communicate or to eat on his own.
"After reviewing the information on Stemedica and Novastem, our family decided to give our father this opportunity. On December 8th, Mr. Hockey underwent a two-day, non-surgical treatment at Novastem’s medical facility. The treatment included neural stem cells injected into the spinal canal on Day 1 and mesenchymal stem cells by intravenous infusion on Day 2. His response was truly miraculous. At the end of Day 1 he was walking with minimal effort for the first time since his stroke. By Day 2 he was conversing comfortably with family and staff at the clinic.
"On the third day, he walked to his seat on the plane under his own power. By Day 5 he was walking unaided and taking part in helping out with daily household chores. When tested, his ability to name items has gone from less than 25% before the procedure to 85% today. His physical therapists have been astonished. Although his short term memory, strength, endurance and coordination have plenty of room for improvement, we are hopeful that he will continue to improve in the months to come.
"As a family, we are thrilled that Dad’s quality of life has greatly improved, and his progress has exceeded our greatest expectations. Once again, we cannot emphasize how much you have fueled Mr. Hockey’s recovery and we thank everyone for their continued prayers and support."
As I noted in my blog on Wednesday, there has been far too much bad news in hockey the last couple of months (Pat Quinn, Jean Beliveau, Murray Oliver, Bryan Murray's cancer) so as we enter the holiday season it is wonderful to be able to pass along the word that Gordie has made such fabulous progress in the past week. Once again Gordie Howe has proved to be not only a great man and great hockey player, but a great fighter as well.
So as we approach Christmas this week let us be especially thankful for this news ... and let’s also take to opportunity to again all hail Mr. Hockey!!!
