Brother to brother: Yukoners return home after kidney transplant

Lymond and Tytus Hardy have always been close as brothers, but Lymond says they're even closer now.

"I finally got a part of him in me — it's his kidney!" 

Lymond just returned home to Yukon, where he and his brother are both still recovering from major surgery. Tytus donated one of his kidneys to Lymond — essentially saving his younger brother's life.

Lymond's ordeal began about a year and a half ago. He'd been feeling unwell for a while, and eventually had a blood test done. When the results came through, he was quickly flown to Vancouver for a biopsy. 

That's where he found out his kidneys had failed, and he would need a transplant.  

"It was not the best news," he recalled. "I didn't think too much about feeling bad about it, because you just have to recover — that's the only option you have."

Top priority was finding a suitable organ donor. Doctors told him to ask family and friends who might be willing.

Lymond's mother stepped up right away, and started getting the appropriate tests done. So did Tytus.

"I figured I was going to be a match, and I was," Tytus said. 

Tytus talked with his family about it, recognizing it was a big commitment. The screening, tests, surgery and recovery would upend his life for months.

But really, it was a no-brainer. He would help his brother.

"When I was down there [in Vancouver] doing my tests, I stayed with him. And you watch someone hook themselves up to machines every night to stay alive, and you know, that's their life every day," Tytus said.

"We had some adventures over the years across Canada, and those days were definitely not happening when you're tied to a machine."

Community support

Lymond feels grateful to be back home in Yukon now, and slowly getting his life back on track. The two are working together as carpenters. Lymond spent most of the last year and a half in Vancouver, as he found it difficult to get away for any length of time.

"I came home once, but I ended up going back down right away because there's not the dialysis or kidney support in the Yukon. So it's better to be close to the hospital in case anything happened," he said.

A crowdfunding campaign helped cover some of his costs to stay in Vancouver. Lymond says the support he felt from Yukoners was "amazing."

"That really changed the whole process for me, to be able to have time to heal," he said.

But Lymond is most grateful for the donation that saved his life — Tytus's kidney.

"I always looked up to Tytus and yeah, he's the best brother a guy could have."