Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow has taken a turn for the worse in his public battle with ALS.
Snow was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, four years ago. On Wednesday, his wife announced that he went into cardiac arrest a day earlier.
“With a shattered heart I’ve come to share that yesterday Chris became unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest,” Kelsie Snow posted to social media. “Paramedics and doctors were able to get his heart beating again but, devastatingly, a scan showed Chris has suffered a catastrophic brain injury caused by lack of oxygen. His doctors do not expect him to wake up from this.”
At the time of his diagnosis, doctors gave Snow, now 42, one year to live.
Boston.com, in an article earlier this year about Snow, said that his father, two uncles and a cousin all died of ALS, with a specific mutation running through the family.
He continued to work for the Flames this year, despite increasing challenges with his health and time spent in the hospital.
A former sportswriter, Snow transitioned to the NHL years ago. He was the director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild from 2006-10, then joined the Flames as director of hockey analysis in 2011. He was promoted to assistant general manager in September 2019.
Kelsie Snow, who shares two children with Chris, ended her post on a personal and emotional note.
“My chest feels cracked open and hollowed out,” she wrote. “Chris is the most beautiful, brilliant person I’ll ever know and doing life without him feels untenable. Hug your people.”
–Field Level Media
