Playing for Parky

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember this post from September about Gary Parkinson, who had a stroke aged 42 and is now suffering from locked-in syndrome. Since I blogged about his stroke, he's been moved to a specialist recovery centre in Bury and is undergoing treatment. The latest I can find is that he now has a wheelchair to allow him to go outside and is being fitted with a speech valve to help him make sounds, and he is also trialling electronic communication which reacts to his blinking and eye movement.

Back when I first blogged about it, I mentioned that I wanted to help with any fundraising event that is set up. Blackpool and Burnley have already held fundraising nights for his fighting fund, but this week sees Preston's turn. On Thursday 21st April, kick-off 6.30pm, there will be a Play For Parky international fundraiser held at Springfields (which is PNE's training ground off Dodney Drive in Lea, Preston) between Preston Supporter's Group (England) versus SIPS (Finland). The teams will be managed for the night by Graham Alexander and David Eyres, both former PNE players and team-mates of Gary. Entry is a suggested donation of £5. Afterwards, there will be an auction of memorabilia after the match at The Withy Trees in Fulwood.

Also, Middlesbrough, his home town team, are holding a charity match for him at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday 15th May, kick-off 4pm. The team of 86, which Gary played in, will play against other celebrities and household names. Gary's son, Luke, who has set up a website to keep everyone updated about his Dad's condition, is set to play in that game and wear the number 2 shirt worn by his Dad. If you want to buy tickets, please go here - tickets cost £10 for adults, £1 for children, with all proceeds going to The Gary Parkinson Trust. You can also buy tickets from usual Middlesbrough ticket outlets.

If you can make it to either, you'd be supporting a worthwhile cause. I'm going to try to get there on Thursday and live up to the promise I made in my original post. It's the least I can do. He may have been a football player, but he's also a father and husband. Quite apart from the impact this has had on him, I can only begin to imagine the effect on his family. They all deserve my support.

Parky

I was reading a blog post over the weekend, by Lisa at Mrs LJ Hall who was mulling over who would be her fantasy husband(s). It has given me the perfect opportunity to tell you about one of mine.

If you'd asked me in the late 90s, I would have said Gary Parkinson, without a doubt. Most of you are sitting looking blankly at the screen, saying "Wha'?" so I feel it my duty to include a picture of him, although it's not great. Gary - known as Parky, obviously - was a right back, who joined Preston from Burnley in 1997. The picture here shows him playing for Middlesbrough, much earlier in his career.

Now, I don't normally go lusting after footballers. As a fan, I am not the sort that goes to football to watch men's buttocks; I am genuinely interested in the football. But I became a big fan of Parky after a chance meeting one day in August 1998. It was Bank Holiday weekend and PNE were playing at Lincoln City. I drove up to Lincoln alone but was meeting a friend who was coming from Liverpool to see the match. I drove out to the point-to-point on the edge of the city to park there to meet my friend as they were going to be driving past so was a convenient place to stop.

When I pulled into the car park, I noticed the team coach. It was empty, apart from the driver. Being a) curious nosey and b) having time to kill, I wandered over, spoke to the driver and asked him if he'd already dropped the team off. He shook his head, pointed to a path and said, "They've gone for a walk." I walked around the corner, and sure enough, there was the whole squad and entourage wandering around. Gary was the first person I bumped into and he stopped to talk to me, for I was wearing both a PNE shirt and an utterly amazed look on my face. We chatted for a couple of minutes and he explained that the boss - David Moyes at the time - liked them to stretch their legs after a long journey before they got to the ground. He was quietly spoken and charming, with lovely twinkly eyes. After this brief chat, he apologised and said they had to leave. Stupidly, I never asked for any autographs but I got a few hellos as they traipsed back onto the bus and left. I'm not sure my friend totally believed me when they turned up about ten minutes later!

After that encounter, Parky became my fantasy husband. I think I met him again, briefly, at a Player of the Year awards ceremony a couple of years later and he was as charming as before. Unfortunately, about six months after I met him, he damaged his cruciate and was out for a year and never really featured regularly for Preston after that so I didn't often get my fix of my favourite player. He left PNE for Blackpool in 2001, normally a move that would generate a lot of bad feeling, but no-one could really begrudge him moving on at the age of 33. He helped them win promotion that season and then retired from playing a couple of years later. He got himself a job back at Blackpool as head of youth after qualifying as a coach.

This story does not have a happy ending. Earlier this month, I was utterly gutted to hear the news that Gary had suffered a massive stroke and was critically ill in hospital. Although he has improved, there are now fears that he is suffering from locked-in syndrome, whereby he is unable to move, speak or swallow but is aware of what is going on around them. It is early days in his rehabilitation but if confirmed, the prognosis is not good as most sufferers die within the first four months. A few manage to overcome it with specialist care; I'm hoping, praying even, that he's one of them. He's only 42 after all. My heart totally goes out to his wife Deborah and their three children as I can only imagine what they are going through right now. And as for Parky, I've tried to imagine what it might be like right now; to be aware of everything around you, and yet not be able to respond, to express emotions, to talk to loved ones or even to move. Boy, is it scary and frustrating - and yet, I can shake myself out of it a few seconds later, move, type, talk and generally express myself. To be like that 24x7 - well, the thought makes me shudder.

I'm hoping in the months to come that there will be some fundraising to help either him or stroke-related causes. Thus far, I haven't found anything on the Blackpool FC website (and yes, I did check it; I am not proud). A donation to The Stroke Association, a charity that supports research into prevention and treatment of strokes as well as providing information, advice and support to stroke victims, may well be in order. If any event is set up in Parky's name, I will be supporting it wholeheartedly and I'll tell you about it here. If anyone knows of any event set up in his name, please let me know because I would love to be involved.

In the meantime, I prefer to remember Parky as the player and the lovely, genuine man that he was. That doesn't mean I am not hoping for the miracle recovery he deserves because I am crossing everything that it happens. But he will remain my fantasy husband. Get well soon, Parky. You are in my thoughts.