“Someone had to die for me to live and here I am going into surgery on Good Friday.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

As Canadians gather with family and friends to eat turkey and reflect on their blessings, one local resident has more reasons to be grateful than most. In just a few short months, Hélène Campbell went from typical Millennial to an ICU patient, fighting to stay alive, and an international organ-donation advocate.

Campbell’s story of receiving a double lung transplant caught the attention of Justin Bieber, and eventually Ellen DeGeneres, through a social media campaign. Yet, as impacting as her story is, it is far outweighed by her parallel story of gratitude and the faithfulness of God.

Before her medical crisis, Campbell says, “I knew there was a God and the need for a relationship, but I didn’t really see it. Prayer was something I did in my Christian home, but that was basically it. The first time I realized there was more to it was when they were doing all the tests to find out what I had.”

“That was almost it for me, but there was a purpose for that not being the end.”

It was morning. Campbell was in a hospital room recovering from some difficult tests when she unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. Amazingly, her doctor found her, almost by accident.

“He usually wouldn’t come see a patient so early in the morning. Usually he would see the patient at 4 p.m. For some reason he felt the need to come check up on me. He came in and found me unresponsive. It was in that moment I realized how serious this was. That was almost it for me, but there was a purpose for that not being the end. That’s where I started thinking about faith a little more.”

As her condition worsened, she says it became increasingly clear to her that God has a plan for everyone. Not knowing what would happen, Campbell waited for a donor as her lung function dropped to 26 percent.

In early April, her lung function was at only six percent. She knew if she didn’t receive a double transplant soon, she would not make it.

“I’ll never forget this. It was a Thursday morning, on April 5, 2012. The nurse came in and told me they had a potential match. I knew it could be a false alarm. They told me [later] that if those lungs were not for me, I would not have lived past that weekend.”

“I needed a lung transplant, but something bigger needed to be transplanted when it came to faith.”

She waited for news all day. By 9 p.m. her health was getting worse and there was still no word.

“At 11 p.m. I found out they had a match. By the time I got into surgery, it was almost 1 a.m. on April 6, so it was Good Friday that year,” Campbell says. “It’s kind of interesting because, with organ donation, someone had to die in order for me to live. Here I am going into surgery on Good Friday. It’s amazing when you think about what Good Friday is.”

But the story gets more remarkable still. After the successful surgery, she remained in a medicated coma, awakening on Resurrection Sunday.

“Recovery was long, but here I am today. God can take a broken situation like my lungs and make it a beautiful situation. I never thought I would be a public speaker, but God gave me a love for storytelling and film making. I decided to use the opportunity to use my story and talk about the importance of organ donation. It ended up saving so many people’s lives.

Hélène in the hospital. Photo courtesy of Hélène Campbell.

“It’s changing not only the way people think about organ donation, but the way they think about how they’re living their lives. Looking back, I ask myself how that all happened. Well, God made it happen,” she says. “I needed a lung transplant, but something bigger needed to be transplanted when it came to faith.”

In September, Campbell went back to school, studying advertising and marketing. She says her story isn’t done and she wants to use her story and her skills to help those facing challenges.

“I am forever grateful to my donor. It’s another broken situation made beautiful. I am full of gratitude for the life and support I have. God has a good sense of humour, so who knows where I’ll end up.”

Learn more about Hélène Campbell’s story at www.alungstory.ca.

You can find out more about organ donation at www.beAdonor.ca.