Kirton, who was prominent figure in fight against ALS, dies at 67

Mark Kirton , who played six seasons as a center in the NHL and was a board member of ALS Action Canada, died on Sunday. He was 67.

Kirton was diagnosed with ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 2018. ALS is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing the loss of muscle control and eventually leading also to the loss of mobility, the ability to eat and speak, paralysis and respiratory failure.

The average lifespan of a person with ALS is 2-5 years.

Despite the debilitating disease, which confined Kirton to a wheelchair, in September 2020 he met a group of PALS (people with ALS) who had come together to create a patient-led initiative (ALS Action Canada) to find a cure. A little more than three years later, in Decem