LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Ravaged by a stroke that left him unable to walk and barely able to speak, Gordie Howe had decided it was time to quit.
His sons didn't want to hear it. Not from Mr. Hockey, whose 25-year career in the NHL was defined by his indomitable style of play and blend of grit and finesse.
''He was saying, 'Take me out back and shoot me,''' recalled Murray Howe, a diagnostic radiologist. ''He was serious. It wasn't like a joke. I said, 'Dad, let's just see if we can help you first.'''
They found it in Mexico, where experimental stem cell treatments produced what his family called a ''life changing'' turnaround that has put the 87-year-old Howe back on his feet.