Hara Kempton needed a liver. Her friend stepped up as her donor

Hara Kempton says it's hard to believe she has a new liver — and she still finds it amazing that the gift came from a friend.

That friend is Heather Cyr, who is back in P.E.I. but still recovering from the surgery that saw her give a piece of her liver to Kempton on January 31st.  

Cyr never told her friend she had applied to be a donor — she went through the testing, and even flew to Toronto for appointments before the surgery, all in secret. She said she didn't want to disappoint her if at some point it didn't work out.

The two met each other more than 20 years ago through work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. 

Cyr is a respiratory therapist and Kempton is a Nurse. 

"I had no idea that she was getting tested," said Kempton. "It was shocking and amazing."

Cyr said it was an easy decision for her, especially seeing how sick her friend had become.

"How could you not do that, knowing that your friend is in desperate need."

Kempton had gone public with her search for a donor last fall. She suffers from Primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC, a rare autoimmune liver disease that attacks the bile ducts. Originally she had been hoping she would be able to get a donation through a deceased donor program, but when her health worsened, doctors suggested she try for a living donor. 

Once Cyr found out she was a match, she wanted to tell Kempton and her husband, Philip Carr, in person, but she was having problems setting up a meeting, since everyone was busy with various commitments. 

It's been really amazing that it ended up being Heather.— Hara Kempton

"I just decided one day I was going to drive to their house, I almost felt like I was stalking her for a little while," she laughed. 

Kempton said there were tears and hugs, and she kept asking her friend if she was sure she wanted to do this. 

"There was no words for what it was," said Kempton. "It was pretty emotional." 

'A gift'

Kempton said the experience has brought them closer together. 

"It's been really amazing that it ended up being Heather," she said, adding receiving a part of her friend's liver has been "a gift" in many ways.

I took two-thirds of her liver.— Hara Kempton

Live liver donors are usually anonymous — in their case it was just because they revealed it to each other that they knew. 

Their husbands also supported each other and travelled together, and for a time, they all stayed together in Toronto. 

The Big Ask

Kempton called her campaign to find a donor "The Big Ask" and she said she never felt comfortable asking her friends directly so she just posted the information about the possibility of a live donor on social media and waited.

The response was huge, and after a month the donor program told her she didn't need to encourage anyone to sign up for her campaign. 

Kempton said it was heartwarming and she was in tears reading messages of support.

"Little did I know that one of those people was Heather at the time," she said. 

"It's a big ask, it's major surgery," said Kempton  "I took two-thirds of her liver." 

Kempton, through her nursing background, understands the risks involved, and she said it's also a huge time commitment for people with testing, appointments and recovery time.

"We hadn't talked much with anybody about asking anybody to go through that for us."

It was hard to go public with her need, but necessary as her condition deteriorated. 

Kempton asked Cyr many times if she was sure she wanted to do this and even on the day of surgery, questioned if she wanted to go ahead.

No was never an option for me.— Heather Cyr

"The morning of the surgery, after we had both taken our pictures that we were ready to go to surgery, I did text her and told her she could still back out," Kempton said, wiping away tears. 

But Cyr said when she makes up her mind to do something, she does it. 

"Anybody that knows me, knows that I'm rather stubborn," she said.

"No was never an option for me." 

Surgery and recovery

As the donor, Cyr's surgery took eight hours. As the recipient, Kempton was in surgery for 12 and a half hours. 

Kempton said she is still dealing with muscle pain from the surgery, and is taking about 40 pills a day. Many of them will help her body not reject Cyr's liver.

"Physically it's going to take a little bit of time, with adjustments and stuff," she said.

"But it's amazing to know I have a new liver inside me."

"There's a few rough days absolutely, I can't deny that but it's all short term," Cyr said. 

"Here I am three weeks later and I feel great." 

Cyr said she's tired but the discomfort is gone and her scar is healing, 

Liver regenerates

Cyr donated almost 70 per cent of her liver but the organ regenerates after the surgery. 

The transplant team is following her progress closely and so far everything is going well.

"The remaining liver takes over and within eight to 12 weeks it has fully regenerated," said Cyr, adding knowing she was going to regain full function of her liver is "pretty amazing." 

"Really a week of discomfort to save a life, that's pretty profound,"  she said. 

I'd like to just go back to living a normal life.— Hara Kempton

"How amazing is it that you can take part of your body, give it to another person and they regain a quality of life." 

Kempton is still focused on recovery for now, and she's feeling hopeful. 

She expects to be back in P.E.I. sometime in March and looks forward to eventually getting back to work as a nurse.

She's excited to have more energy and see her grandson grow up, travel a bit and get back to camping. 

"I'd like to just go back to living a normal life."

Hope their story raises awareness

Both Cyr and Kempton hope their story motivates others to consider organ donation. 

They say witnessing others in the transplant unit really drove home the message that more people need to consider donating whether it's as a live donor or getting on a deceased donors list. 

"It's an amazing gift," said Kempton.