Milos Holan

Milos Holan reported for his preseason physical with the Mighty Ducks in September full of excitement about the season ahead--a season destined, he was sure, to be his best yet. Instead, he learned within weeks that he has a slow-progressing form of leukemia. Twenty-two years ago, Minnesota Twin shortstop Danny Thompson entered a doctor's office with the same sense of anticipation about the coming baseball season.

The setting--blue skies, green grass, tall roses in full bloom--was all he could ever hope for during the bleakest moments. Just a chance to enjoy a day in the sunshine with his family. On Friday, Milos Holan met the man who made it all possible, the donor who provided the bone marrow necessary to help Holan's body ward off leukemia. Holan was playing for the Mighty Ducks in 1995 when a routine physical revealed the disease.

Milos Holan reported for his preseason physical with the Mighty Ducks in September full of excitement about the season ahead--a season destined, he was sure, to be his best yet. Instead, he learned within weeks that he has a slow-progressing form of leukemia. Twenty-two years ago, Minnesota Twin shortstop Danny Thompson entered a doctor's office with the same sense of anticipation about the baseball season.

Short on defensemen, but apparently even shorter on sentimentality, the Ducks on Wednesday released Milos Holan without playing him in any of their first four exhibitions. Holan's hockey comeback from leukemia evidently is over. He plans to return this week to his native Czech Republic. General Manager Pierre Gauthier gave Holan the option of playing for the Ducks' minor-league affiliate in Cincinnati, but the 27-year-old defenseman declined.

Mighty Duck defenseman Milos Holan, who underwent a bone marrow transplant in February to treat leukemia, and his wife, Irena, became parents of a son, Milos III. The baby, who was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, and mother are doing fine. Holan Jr. is being treated for a rash at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte but is expected to be released soon.

Mighty Duck defenseman Milos Holan is in stable condition at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte after being readmitted to the hospital because of a complication in his recovery from a bone marrow transplant. Holan returned to the hospital Saturday, two days after going home for the first time since undergoing a Feb. 21 marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. Dr.

The Mighty Ducks' Milos Holan is home from the hospital again--along with a new baby. Holan and his wife, Irena, conceived their second child last fall after learning that Holan had a slow-progressing form of leukemia and would require a bone-marrow transplant, a dangerous procedure that probably would make it impossible to have more children. The baby was born last week, and Holan was released from City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte on Monday. "His name is Milos Jr.

What's Ahead for Holan Doctors discovered Mighty Duck defenseman Milos Holan's leukemia after an abnormal blood test in September. Holan has a form of the disease that, without a bone-marrow transplant, would eventually be fatal. Marrow, the soft, fatty tissue found in bone cavities, is the body's "blood factory." A look at how his treatment is expected to progress. * Feb.

Mighty Duck defenseman Milos Holan is making progress toward leaving the hospital after overcoming a setback in his recovery from a Feb. 21 bone marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. "The prospects look really good," said Rich Winter, Holan's Edmonton-based agent. "He had a little dip, which happens a lot with non-related donors. He had a little rejection, but he's overcome it. I went down to see him, and by the time I got there he was back on top of the world.

Defenseman Milos Holan of the Mighty Ducks took another step toward recovery Thursday when he was released from the hospital nine weeks after undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. Although full recovery takes about a year, going home is a significant milestone. "I just feel like I'm back into life, you know what I mean?

If everybody else wants to think Milos Holan has already won, that by the very fact that Holan is on hockey skates and joining in the festivities of the Mighty Duck training camp, that this means he has accomplished some magical, miraculous achievement, well, hey, that's fine. But that's not why Holan is here. This story could be tragic, and believe Holan when he says that many times he thought his story might be.

From where Milos Holan sits, the world looks pretty good right now. And the former Mighty Duck looks pretty good to the world too. "Milos' world was expanded because of what he had to confront," said Dr. Stephen Forman, director of the marrow transplant program at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte. "He has set up a charity program in the Czech Republic and is working to upgrade the care for leukemia patients there. He's been an inspiration to all of us."

From his seat on the club level at the Pond of Anaheim, Milos Holan joined 17,174 others in whipping a white towel over his head Friday night. He cheered with the fans when Guy Hebert made a key save early in Game 2 of the Mighty Ducks' first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Phoenix. He roared when Dmitri Mironov scored the Ducks' first goal in the first period.

A faintly familiar defenseman skated smoothly but cautiously around the rink as the Mighty Ducks took the ice for practice shortly before the NHL trading deadline Tuesday. But it wasn't a new player, it was an old friend: defenseman Milos Holan, skating for the first time since undergoing a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant to treat leukemia last year. Holan, 25, surprised his teammates in the dressing room, then skated for about 15 minutes before leaving the ice a little winded.

Milos Holan walked to center ice Friday, a puck in his hand, cheers ringing in his ears. A tremendous show of support from family, friends, teammates and people he has never met carried him through a seven-month hospital stay after he underwent a bone marrow transplant Feb. 21. And it continued during Holan's first visit to the Pond since the transplant. Holan received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 17,174 when he was introduced before the Ducks played the Kings.

Milos Holan walked to center ice Friday, a hockey puck in his hand, cheers ringing in his ears. A tremendous show of support from family, friends, teammates and people he has never met carried him through a seven-month hospital stay after he underwent a marrow transplant Feb. 21. And it continued during Holan's first visit to the Pond since the transplant. Holan received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 17,174 when he was introduced before the Ducks played the Kings.

The Mighty Ducks are holding a drive Saturday in Orange to register potential marrow donors for defenseman Milos Holan and other patients in need of transplants, including Michelle Carew, the 18-year-old daughter of Rod Carew. "Bone marrow is an organ, too, and you can give bone marrow while you're still alive. It's not something you put on your drivers' license," Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. "I'm aware of that now, and I'm in the pool. Hopefully someday I can save someone's life.

Prompted by the plight of Mighty Ducks' defenseman Milos Holan, who has been diagnosed with a slow-progressing form of leukemia, about 800 people turned out in the city of Orange Saturday to be tested as potential bone-marrow donors for Holan and other patients needing transplants. "It's great," said the 24-year-old Holan, continuing to play for the Ducks while doctors search for a marrow match. "I'm very happy and I want to thank everybody very much for coming."

The Mighty Ducks' Milos Holan is home from the hospital again--along with a new baby. Holan and his wife, Irena, conceived their second child last fall after learning that Holan had a slow-progressing form of leukemia and would require a bone-marrow transplant, a dangerous procedure that probably would make it impossible to have more children. The baby was born last week, and Holan was released from City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte on Monday. "His name is Milos Jr.

Mighty Duck defenseman Milos Holan, who underwent a bone marrow transplant in February to treat leukemia, and his wife, Irena, became parents of a son, Milos III. The baby, who was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, and mother are doing fine. Holan Jr. is being treated for a rash at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte but is expected to be released soon.