Stiliyan Petrov and His Hard Fight Against Leukemia

Steven Petrov
The Paw Print

The Bulgarian professional soccer player Stiliyan Petrov, who started his professional career at CSKA Sofia and went to become captain of the best Scottish football (soccer) team Celtic F.C., the Bulgarian national football team, and subsequently to one of the top teams in the English Premiere League (EPL), Aston Villa F.C., had to face one of the toughest obstacles yet in his and his family’s lives – Leukemia. The way he and his family and friends approached that terrible disease as well as the truly phenomenal support that he got from all across Europe and the world were the things that showed what a great player and most of all what a strong and truly loved person he is. STAN, as he is known all across England and Europe, is much more than just a player he is part of the lives of hundreds of thousand of people who showed their support in one way or another throughout this tough year and a half.
The shocking news about STAN’s disease came on March 30th 2012, when few days ago he underwent a series of medical examinations, after him not feeling good during the Aston Villa’s game against Arsenal in the EPL. He reported to the doctors with fever, incapability to move and control his muscles, as well as a feeling of constant exhaustion throughout the day. After multiple blood and bone marrow tests over the next couple of days the doctors had found out the absolutely terrible news about the Leukemia that was expanding in STAN’s body. Everyone who learned about what had happened to Aston Villa’s captain was more than shocked, but all of his family as well as his friends and even people that he never knew before started to give him courage by either phone calls, messages, mail, visiting as well, as praying for him. Aston Villa’s fans had been giving standing ovations during the whole 19th minute of every game for more than a year ever since their captain was diagnosed with cancer, in order to show their support and belief in his strong character to fight against the disease. STAN had a lymphoblastic leukemia for which he said “The main thing with that is the success rate of treating it is between 90 and 95 per cent, which give me a great hope.” The success rate was not the only thing that gave him hope besides the great support of his fans and friends, but also his always supportive and loving wife, Paulina, who was every single day and night with STAN in the hospital throughout all the times of struggle. “I saw it in her eyes as soon as we found out about it, she put everything else behind even herself and said that my life is the most important one of all,” says STAN with tears in his eyes.
After a year and a half of treatment and thousands of prayers STAN is in the final stages of his successful battle against leukemia and was able to put an official end to his professional career with playing in a last friendly game on Celtic Park, where 60,000 people as well as a dozen of the Europe’s best players were there to see and play with STAN for one last time, showing their love and respect to Stiliyan Petrov and his victory over the terrible disease which he says “changed me for the better.” This is where STAN’s inner power lies in his incredibly strong and positive mentality!