‘Everyone deserves the chance to live’

A piece of Janette Pomroy is keeping Laura Hayley alive.

Aurora Hickey
Kicker

It’s not uncommon for people to say they can’t live without their best friend, however, for Laura Hayley it’s her reality.

Laura Hayley was 18 years old when she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

“It’s a disease where the bile ducts close over time,” said Hayley. “They get blocked with things like infection and scarring, which reduces the flow of bile which then deteriorates your liver and causes scleroses.”

When Hayley was diagnosed, she was told usually patients with the disease see their liver fail within a decade. She got 30 years out of hers.

“… in June (2025) they realized I didn’t have much time left, so we had to pursue the living donor,” said Hayley.

Some liver transplants used deceased donors, but this wasn’t an option for Hayley.

Hayley had to stop working in March of 2025 due to the amount of infection and being in hospital so much.

“I would get stents put in my bile ducts, sometimes twice a week which is a very risky procedure. You run the risk of puncturing the bile ducts, pancreas, bowel, hurting the liver itself.”

A second chance came from an unexpected place.

Her savior was the former principal of St. Francis of Assisi school in Outer Cove where her three oldest children attended.

Pomroy read the story on social media and knew Hayley was looking for a liver, however, she didn’t realize just how serious it was.

During a conversation at work, Pomroy asked about Hayley and how she was doing.

The response was chilling.

“Janette, she’s about to die,” said her boss.

Pomroy and Hayley studied education in university but were in different classes.

“We were parallel,” said Pomroy. “We weren’t friends, we never crossed paths until I became the principal of three of her kids.”

“It doesn’t matter what your circumstance is, everyone deserves a fighting chance.”

The conversation with her employer, said Pomroy, stuck with her and over the course of a few days she started having chats with her family about becoming a organ donor to help Hayley. But first they needed to do tests to see if she was a match.

Eventually, she had to go to Toronto for the final tests. Up until Pomroy, nobody had made it that far.

When Pomroy got the call telling her she had passed local testing, she learned financial support from the province did not exist. She had to pay her own way to Toronto.

“We’re not allowed to take support from the (organ) recipient, even if there’s been a fundraiser. It cannot be seen as a purchase or any sort of gifting,” said Pomroy.

A trip to the city of lights was cancelled and the savings from the trip to Paris was used to cover expenses.

After three days of testing in Toronto, Pomroy was in an Uber on the way to the airport in Toronto and eventually her home in St. John’s when she got a call.

“You are a perfect match,” said the nurse over the phone.

Pomroy was allowed to give Hayley the good news.

“I said ‘what are you doing July 14th … I don’t know about you but I’m scheduled for surgery in Toronto.’ and I heard the tears flooding in the background.”

In 2025, there were 3,174 organ transplants in Canada according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Of those, 603 were liver transplants.

Her family, she says, raised her to help others.

“I was taught, when people need help, you help. It doesn’t matter what you sacrifice as long as you’re doing good for the world and leaving the place a little better than how you found it.”

For Hayley, organ rejection is always a threat.

Hayley says she is fighting every day to keep the donated piece of liver in her body.

“Yes, it’s painful,” said Hayley. “We can’t say it’s easy and you’ll recover in two weeks, but it’s worth it in the end, I’m still here.”

Like Hayley, says Pomroy, she didn’t truly understand how hard the recovery would be.

“It was agonizing,” said Pomroy. “I didn’t feel like any part of myself until February 2026.”

But, she says, she wouldn’t change a thing.

“Never. Absolutely not.”

The two want to spread awareness on the importance of organ donation. In this province, people can become organ donors by checking the box on their MCP card or by registering online.

“Everyone deserves the chance to live,” said Pomroy. “It doesn’t matter what your circumstance is, everyone deserves a fighting chance.”