Posted on July 8th 2023
Kenna Stewart will be thinking of her mum when she jumps from a plane to raise money for the PHA UK this summer.
She will make the leap at Fife Airport with friends Donna MacLeod Bray and Donalda Mackinnon on 29th July, and together they are raising sponsorship for the PHA UK and Macauley College – a charity supporting people with autism and disabilities on the Isle of Lewis.
The friends all live in the Western Isles of Scotland and although Kenna is a double amputee, she’s not letting that get in her way.
“My doctor has cleared me as fit to do it and so everybody at the skydive centre is happy”, she said. “I’m not sure if nerves or excitement will get the better of us on the day though. They may have to prise my fingers from the side of the plane when it comes to it!”
Kenna is sure that her mum Christina, who died with pulmonary hypertension in 2014, will be with them in spirit during the challenge. They are pictured together below.
“Mum would think that we’re off our heads for doing this, but she’d be very proud too. She was my rock and supported me all my life in everything I wanted to do. When the opportunity came up to do a skydive, I decided I wanted to raise money in her memory.”
Christina had been ill with complex symptoms for some time and was treated for connective tissue disorder and other conditions, before finally being diagnosed with PH. She died just a few weeks later.
“No-one in the family had ever heard of PH and we knew of no-one on the island who had it. It was a quite a shock when we learned more about the condition and just how serious it was.”
Kenna was involved in an accident on a ferry when she was ten years old, which led to months of hospital treatment before both legs were amputated, one above and one below the knee. Her mum supported her through that journey and throughout her life, and the skydive is dedicated to her memory.
“This is just a small thing we can do. Anything to raise money and awareness to help others with earlier diagnosis of PH has got to be a good thing”, she added.
You can sponsor Kenna and her friends via this PayPal link.
Kenna’s husband Tommy will be jumping alongside his wife and her friends. He will be raising money for the Army Benevolent Fund, a military charity close to his heart.
