18
A Year in Review 2012 – 2013:
Programs
Courage Lives Here
19
Multi-Organ Transplant
(
...continued from page 17)
Life-saving transplant
Then, in the spring of 2012, Hélène heard the incredible
news that donor lungs had become available.
In early April, just before her 21st birthday, Dr. Tom
Waddell and an 11-person surgical team performed the
high-risk double lung transplant that saved her life.
“I feel amazing, I feel so good, it’s unbelievable,” Hélène
told
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
on Skype seven weeks after
the transplant.
“Every day after the surgery, I felt stronger. Like, I was
slowly able to tie my shoes again, then make my bed,
and then I took a standing shower for the first time
without the oxygen in a full three years — that was
amazing,” she continued. “I can laugh again, I can dance,
it’s unbelievable how amazing this has been.”
While in the ICU, Hélène said she also continued to be
amazed by the patience and care of nursing staff.
“I was an intubated, anxious and sometimes hallucinat-
ing patient,” she said. “But the nurses were remarkable
and extremely compassionate.”
Hélène Campbell wasn’t sure she would see her 21st birthday. Here
she celebrates that very birthday with a Booster Juice smoothie.
(Photo: Alan Campbell)
Members of Hélène Campbell’s care team at Toronto General
Hospital were key to her successful transplant journey.
(Photo: Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen)
Birthday boost
On Hélène’s 21st birthday — the day she hadn’t even
been sure she would see — nurses helped make the day
even more special.
When she could not drink due to a trach she’d received
the day before, to celebrate, her nurse brought her
a Booster Juice smoothie to swish around in her mouth.
“Every member of the team works hard to make you feel
better,” she said.
As an ever-present member of her support team, Manon,
Hélène’s mother, a nurse herself, took particular notice of
her daughter’s exemplary care.
“The nurses’ role in communicating what they had
observed to the physicians was huge. I sensed that the
team members really valued each other’s knowledge
and showed great communication in caring for my
daughter,” Manon said.
“Every day, six or seven people, including those in
training, did rounds. Although they often talked out
of earshot, I know the discussions were great teaching
moments and opportunities for planning care,” she
continued.
For Hélène, grateful for the donor whose lungs she
received and everyone involved in her transplant
procedure, it’s all meant a new chance at life.
“I’ve gained the ability to live again, it’s such a miracle,”
she said.
(
Continued on page 20...)
“Every member of the team
works hard to make you feel better.”
–Hélène Campbell
VIDEO:
Give2Live
Give2Live raises money for the Transplant Patient & Family Support Fund at Toronto General Hospital.
(Video: Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation)
