Meet North East Parkies United: Erika Cummings

Erika was the first female attendee of Foundation of Light’s Neurological Walking Football sessions.

We caught up with the now 67-year-old in 2024 about her new-found passion for football, having first joined the session to stay active to help manage her symptoms.

“There was a tremor for a good while, which I thought was down to anxiety. I think it’s a bit of both with me, but I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in November 2022,” Erika explained.

“It doesn’t stop me, I’m very positive. Although some mornings you feel ‘I can’t be bothered’ and just the aching, the stiffness, and your head’s not in the same place, you’ve just got to be positive.”

Erika also stresses how participating both socially and physically can be vital for managing life with Parkinson’s disease, saying: “It’s as though you haven’t got Parkinson’s.

“You meet a lot of people from all different walks of life, because it doesn’t just affect a certain group of people, it can affect anybody.

“So you learn about them, their background, how they came to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s. You’re just having a chat about this, that, or the other.

“I am the only lady at the minute, but that never put me off. I feel much better when I’m leaving than when I came in.”

Erika had not played much football previously, but her enjoyment of the session has kept her coming back and fired up a new passion for the game.

“I enjoy them immensely. For the movement, the coordination and meeting other people with the same condition,” Erika added.

Erika still regularly attends the weekly Neurological Walking Football session on Tuesday afternoons and has taken part in the warm-up friendlies for North East Parkies United against Stokesley Walking Football Club as they gear up for the Sport Parkinson’s Tournament on 19 April.