A young Ottawa woman who received a double lung transplant as strangers across North America cheered her on has begun stirring in hospital after the delicate surgery, her family said Saturday.
Helene Campbell, whose efforts to raise awareness about organ donation landed her on the Ellen DeGeneres show, underwent a rare double lung transplant at Toronto General Hospital on Friday.
On Saturday afternoon, Campbell's mom, Manon Campbell, posted an update on Twitter, saying her daughter is "responding to commands at times and trying to open her eyes as well."
Thousands of people who have been following Campbell's quest for an organ donor on Twitter and her blog responded with messages of support and encouragement.
Campbell remains on life support as doctors closely monitor her condition.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, lead surgeon Dr. Tom Waddell said the operation was successful, but there is always a risk that Campbell's body may reject the lungs. She is expected to stay in hospital for at least a month.
Campbell has been waiting for a new set of lungs since last September, when she was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a type of progressive, chronic lung disease.
In January, Campbell sent a tweet to Justin Bieber asking him to spread the word about organ donation. The superstar retweeted the message to his more than 16 million followers and Ontario's Trillium Gift of Life Network saw a big spike in traffic to its beadonor.ca website.
Then, Campbell sent a video to the Ellen DeGeneres show asking the host to help her spread her message.
On Feb. 16, Campbell made an appearance on Ellen's show via Skype. Ellen said she was moved by Campbell's story and invited her to return to the show after the lung transplant.
