Watch above: ‘Mr. Hockey’ Gordie Howe suffers stroke, sounds awareness alarm
SASKATOON – There’s a statue of him in front of Sasktel Centre, a multi use park is named after him and paintings of him are found around the city. Mr. Hockey is Mr. Saskatoon.
When news broke of Gordie Howe’s severe stroke over the weekend, people young and old began wishing Mr. Hockey a speedy recovery.
“The impact of him and his game and the way he carried himself is immeasurable,” said Saskatoon Blades President Steve Hogle.
“It really is a time to pause and reflect on the impact he’s had not only on the game but in the city and in the province and in the nation. Even the prime minister was tweeting out his concerns; we certainly share our concerns,” said Hogle.
“Gordie Howe grew up here, five blocks away here in Holiday Park,” said Bryan Kosteroski, the executive director of Friends of the Bowl Foundation.
“He played ball here, he played hockey here, he’s an icon of Saskatoon, kids growing up here in Saskatoon, everyone knows the name Gordie Howe and we’re all thinking of him right now.”
Read more:Gordie Howe improving after stroke, family says
As the 86-year-old shows improvement, awareness of stroke is also spreading across the globe today, World Stroke Day.
“Strokes happen every 10 minutes, so somebody’s having a stroke every 10 minutes just in Canada,” said Natalie Gierman, health policy and research director for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
“Aside from people having stokes, we also have about 315,000 people in Canada that are living with the effects of stroke, so that might be an impairment with reading or writing, ability to see or speak or reason.”
While stroke over the age of 70 is the most common, the foundation is seeing it happen at a younger age. Over the past decade, people in their 50’s suffering strokes have gone up 24 per cent.
“If you have any sudden weakness in your arm, you can’t lift your arms or you’re having slurred speech or trouble speaking, sudden vision problems or any severe or unusual headaches, you want to call 9-1-1 immediately,” said Gierman.
Gordie Howe is the only player in NHL history to lace ’em up in five different decades. The Gordie Howe Hat-Trick – a goal, an assist and a fight in one game – is named after the hockey legend.
Now Mr. Hockey is in for the fight of his life.
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