TORONTO, Ont. – Hélène Campbell, the 21-year-old who received a double lung transplant last month spoke publicly for the first time Thursday since undergoing the operation.

She said she learned a lot – and she knows how lucky she is.

“I’ll never forget how blessed I am to have received this gift,” she said. “Will I stop advocating for organ donation now that I’ve had my lungs? No, my voice is more melodic. I might write a song about it.”

Her recovery is coming along and she takes 54 pills every day.

Campbell is thrilled she can climb stairs once again and shower standing up; a couple things she wasn’t able to do prior to the procedure.

Campbell was diagnosed with advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in October 2011 and had surgery at Toronto General Hospital on April 6.

The Ottawa woman was released from hospital on May 4, and has been staying in Toronto to continue her recovery.

Campbell has become the unofficial face of organ donation in Canada after attracting endorsements from Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres.

Doctors said her transplant experience has been much like any other.

The possibility that the donated organs may not have been available in the first place was always very real. Then there was the risk of organ rejection and the threat of infection.

What was different, however, was how Campbell and her family used her condition as a rallying point to encourage organ donation.

She has been keeping her supporters posted on her progress through her blog — alungstory.ca — and her Twitter account, which currently has over 15,000 followers.

The impact of her campaign has already translated into real numbers.

The Trillium Gift of Life Network — Ontario’s organ and tissue donation agency — said it would typically see 350 new registrations a week, but saw that number jump to 1,500 when Bieber endorsed Campbell’s campaign and skyrocket to over 3,000 after Campbell’s interview with DeGeneres.

In late April, Campbell’s parents said they knew it would be a long and slow process, but his daughter is battling through it.

Ronnie Gavsie, president and CEO at Trillium, said Campbell became a wonderful spokesperson.

“We’re capitalizing on it. We have a new campaign that is called the ‘Gift Eight Movement,’ where people can take out a page at beadonor.ca and make a personal ask to friends, co-workers and family,” Gavsie explained.