Stiliyan Petrov will forever find the bitter irony of circumstance in the fact that Fabrice Muamba’s cardiac arrest on March 17th probably saved his life.
As the saying goes, it takes one to die for another to be reborn – Muamba was technically dead for 78 minutes.
The deep-seated animosity between all clubs in England was momentarily put aside in the wake of these internal sufferings. It is truly a credit to the human condition that within a story filled with such sadness, we can find comfort in knowing Muamba played a part in saving the life of Petrov.
Late last month, the playing squad of Aston Villa met with medical experts to undergo mandatory heart tests in light of the Muamba heart attack.
Two days later, Petrov was alerted to the abnormalities in his results, and a connection with a possible cancer diagnosis. Last Friday, Petrov announced to his teammates that he had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia.
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish acknowledged the severity of Petrov’s diagnosis, but insisted his captain was in great stead to tackle the disease head on.
“Stan himself is in amazing spirits, absolutely fantastic spirits. God knows what the lad is thinking in his head, but he is the captain of Aston Villa.”
The social network has thrown its viral support behind the Bulgarian, with many condolences issued via Twitter.
Shay Given tweeted: “In shock about Stiliyan Petrov acute leukaemia but we are all here for him and his family. Please God he makes a full recovery.#prayforstan.”
As Stiliyan Petrov battles on, Britain’s shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has called for a renewed outlook on heart screening for young adults.
Mr Burnham stressed that Muamba, who is just 23 years of age, should be cited as evidence that heart failure is not isolated to the elderly or the unfit. He also credited the quick work of the English Premier League’s on-site medical staff who played a vital role in the survival of Muamba.
However, “at grassroots level the same facilities do not exist and many others are not so lucky,” Burnham said.
I’m not sure how Petrov will chose to word it, but maybe a thank you card to Muamba is in order. It’s a great story uncovered amid the anguish.
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