Yellowknife (Sep 08/06) - After weeks of recovery, a Yellowknife woman who donated most of her liver to save her dying brother is finally back home.

Forty-three-year-old Rose Greening called the experience "terrifying" but knew she couldn't refuse her baby brother the gift of life.

"I was scared," said Greening who had never gone under the knife before the operation that saw her donate 68 per cent of her liver.

"There was no way I couldn't go through with it," said Greening.

Greening said she remembers the look of desperation on her brother Nick Cavezza's face every time she went for tests to see if she was a combatable donor.

Cavezza, 39, said he's always been close to his older sister and that he has a new outlook on life.

"I just think we're a little bit closer," said the one-time-resident of Yellowknife.

Cavezza and his wife Linda lived in Yellowknife in 1986 and 1987. They now reside in Thunder Bay.

Cavezza's medical trouble began around Christmas when he said he began to gain weight and feel bloated.

Doctors did tests and found there was a build-up of fluids in his abdomen.

Cavezza had the fluid drained, but it came back.

He was then diagnosed with a form of cirrhosis of the liver - the term for scar tissue forming on the organ - not caused by alcohol.

Cavezza was admitted to a hospital in Thunder Bay in February, only to be medevaced to the Toronto General Hospital in May.

He said waiting for a donated liver - the only way Cavezza would survive the ordeal, was fraught with difficult moments for his wife and two teenage children; Three possible donor livers fell through.

One of the potential donors was 41-year-old middle sibling Luigi Cavezza.

When the news came back that Luigi's liver was two per cent too small for a successful transplant, Rose made her way to Toronto to get tested herself.

Greening underwent a five-and-a-half hour surgery to remove part of her liver July 17.

She was able to donate more than half of her liver because it is the only organ, except skin, that can re-generate.

Still recovering, Greening arrived back in Yellowknife Sept. 1 and said she is focused on getting back her strength.

"It was tough for the whole family," said Greening.

Her husband Gary, and 17-year-old daughter Cassandra supported her decision to donate her liver, even though it was a major operation.

So far, tests are showing her liver is doing well, she said.

Cavezza has another three to six months of recovery ahead of him.

He's also taking 13 different drugs, some of which he'll be on for the rest of his life.

Greening said one of the most important lessons she's learned from this experience is to sign a donor card to and talk about donating organs with family members.

She said "your health and your family" are the most important things in life.