Fort William brother and sister skydive to make 10,000ft skydive to thank Raigmore Hospital ICU in Inverness
A brave sister and brother are to parachute from 10,000ft to raise money for Raigmore Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).
Katie and John Stewart-Stevenson, from Fort William, will also be making the skydive on April 26 in memory of their brother Liam (25) who was placed on life support after a suicide attempt on January 1, 2023.
He was airlifted to Raigmore ICU where he sadly died despite a five-day battle trying to save him.
Liam's family made the heartbreaking decision to switch off his life support, then agreed his kidneys and liver should be made available for transplant.
Katie (20), a health care support worker in the community and at Belford Hospital, Fort William said: “It was nice to know that Liam’s organs had saved three lives, and we know it was what he would have wanted. He would do anything for anyone.
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"It's comforting knowing that there are parts of Liam out there that are still living on helping other people to not have to go through the grief we went through.
"The support and treatment we got from the ICU staff was just amazing at what was a very difficult time for us all. They were immensely compassionate, understanding and supportive in all ways and truly went above and beyond for both Liam and our family.
"The skydive will be a big thank you to all of them for the way they helped us."
The family is hoping the skydive money will support ICU in any way they need it, to help support other families, staff and the ward itself and to show a huge thank you for all their support and kindness.
Katie added that they also want to help encourage men with mental health issues to speak out about their problems.
She said: “There have been quite a lot of suicides in Lochaber over the past months, and I want to encourage men and others not to be afraid to talk about their fears and to ask for help. Men especially seem to bottle up their feelings.”
John (24), a driver with Ferguson’s Haulage, and Katie will travel with parents Ally and Jean Ann to Fife Airport to do the skydive. The plan is to exit the plane together, each hooked up to an instructor. They will be given instructions on what is going to happen when they arrive.
Katie said: “I am not that good with heights and neither is my brother, but it is something I have always wanted to do so I’m quite excited - and it is for such a good cause.”
Since Liam's passing, the memory of the keen shinty player and accordionist has been remembered in several ways including a memory tree at Ballachulish shinty club, a memorial bench at his local pub, and his loved ones helped raise £7000 for a local mental health charity by holding a Boorach on the Ben ceilidh on the summit of Ben Nevis.
Go to to make a contribution to the appeal.
