Lean back, and take a deep breath in. Now, start taking another deep breath, but stop halfway through. Imagine that shallow breath was as good as it got.
For 20-year-old Hélène Campbell, that’s a reality.
During a trip to Spain last summer, Campbell started feeling short of breath. After returning to her home in Barrhaven, a series of visits to doctors found her lungs had collapsed.
After some more tests, she was diagnosed with Advanced Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a chronic form of lung disease.
“It is something that is, right now, irreversible,” Campbell said. “But that doesn’t even matter because it’s really aggressive. It’s reached a point where I need a double lung transplant.”
This can be a scary thought when you look at Ontario’s transplant statistics.
Currently, there are 1,545 people waiting for a life-saving organ in Ontario, and every three days, one of those people dies, according to Ronnie Gavsie of the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN).
Only one in five eligible Ontarians are registered organ donors, Gavsie said.
But Gavsie said she doesn’t believe this number is indicative of Ontario’s support for organ donations. Rather, she said she thinks many people just don’t know enough about it.
“[People] may believe that signing a donor card means they’re registered, but in fact it does not,” Gavsie said. “You need to register at beadonor.ca.”
Campbell agrees that more information about the process needs to get out there.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she’s decided to embark on a campaign to raise awareness about the shabby state of organ donation in Ontario.
So far, she’s been successful.
Twitter’s registration saw a 600 per cent boost Jan. 19 when Campbell asked people to tweet at Justin Bieber with the hashtag #BeAnOrganDonor, according to Campbell.
Campbell said she hoped she could get Bieber to advertise the website beadonor.ca to his 16.6 million followers, and get some exposure for those in need.
Bieber didn’t disappoint.
“I got the word . . . you have amazing strength. i got u. #BeAnOrganDonor,” he tweeted Jan. 21.
“I’m a little overwhelmed that [Bieber] did it,” Campbell said. “That was pretty awesome, for anyone that tweeted, that was just super, super awesome.”
To be eligible for a transplant, Campbell had to relocate to within two hours of the hospital that would perform the surgery, which meant acquiring a residence in Toronto.
Although her condition sometimes makes it difficult, Campbell said she’s trying to make the most of her time there.
“I often feel really tired, short of breath. I can’t do things on my own,” she said. “But riding the subway from one side of the city to the other is an adventure.”
As Campbell awaits the call for a lung transplant, her attitude remains positive. She’s also been an inspiration.
Friend Taber Bucknell created the website alungstory.ca where Campbell blogs about her experience in Toronto.
Elisabeth Levesque-Mumford created a short documentary about Campbell, and acquaintance Laura Emily wrote the song “Right Side” for her.
The move to Toronto wasn’t easy for Campbell and her family. They now have to pay rent on two houses, and her mother Manon Roy Campbell had to take time off from her job as a nurse to look after her daughter.
Those looking to support the family can visit the alungstory.ca website, where they can donate.
“I’m feeling good,” Campbell said. “Really, really encouraged.”
