'Walking football helps me tackle Parkinson's stigma'

"The first thing I did was Google how long I was going to live for."

As a woman in her 40s, Dionne Barton was stunned after a suspected trapped nerve led to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Battling with the stigma of being a younger woman with a condition associated with "traditional older men with a tremor", the Draycott villager said she kept her diagnosis "hidden" for more than four years.

But now Dionne said she had "come out with a bang" and joined the Parkie Rams - a walking football club for Derby County fans living with Parkinson's.

However, for years, Dionne only shared her diagnosis with close friends and family. She said: "I went to the hospital with a suspected trapped nerve and was shocked when I was told that actually, it was Parkinson's.

"As a 48-year-old female without a tremor, I didn't realise that you could get diagnosed with Parkinson's that young, and like most people, I associated [Parkinson's] with tremors so it was a bit of a shock.

"You don't want people to see you differently, you don't want people to see you as not you. And I think it's a bit of a stigma. I'll be honest, your immediate thought is your traditional older men with a tremor.

"You don't know what the future holds or how it's going to affect you. You do think, 'what is my life going to be like and how is this going to impact my life, my husband and your children'.

"I did a women's event a few months ago and we all said that one of the first things we did when we got diagnosed was Google how long we were going to live for."

More than 166,000 people are thought to be living with the disease, which the NHS said impacts mobility, speech, focus, sleep and independence across the UK.

According to charity Parkinson's UK, men are 1.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with the condition, while people under 50 with Parkinson's only account for an estimated 5-20% of cases.

There is currently no cure, and the number is expected to increase due to population growth and ageing.

But using walking football, Derby County Community Trust is working to improve the quality of life for people living with Parkinson's, offering both exercise and a way to meet other people through the Parkie Rams, which meet at Derby's Willow Sports Centre.

Liv Strachan, volunteer manager, said the club was set up two years ago: "Not only do members get the social side, meeting new people with Parkinson's and with that support network, they also get balance, strength, coordination, cardiovascular benefits, it's an all-round great exercise and social event.

"There's a lot of fun, a lot of laughing, and we do more of the fitness side and the gameplay strategies and things like that for when we go to tournaments."

Dionne said at first it was daunting being the team's only female player, but the sense of community makes the club special: "I've been hidden really for probably four-and-a-half years and this year I decided not anymore.

"I've come out with a bang. I've never been interested in football in my life so my friends and family just think it's hilarious now that I'm playing walking football.

"It's just brilliant. I just giggle and laugh all the way through.

"I won't say I'm that good or I know all the rules but only people with Parkinson's know what it's like living with Parkinson's, and most of us when we get on the pitch it's just that little window where you forget about it."

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