I signed my donor card the day I turned 16, and the thought of "outliving myself" by donating my organs made complete sense to me.

I just never thought that I would need a transplant. The truth is, it could happen to anyone. I am not trying to scare you, but take my story as an example. If you had told me that I was going to need a lung transplant 10 years ago, I would have never believed you, and laughed!

In grade 12, I wrote an Independent Study Unit on transplantation. I found out that Canada is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to Organ Donation. "Why?" I wondered.

We don't control what happens to us, but we do have control of the way we react to situations.

Someone asked my mother how she felt about [her] daughter needing a transplant, and my moms answer was fantastic. "We hope that through Helene's Story, people will realize the need for organ donation."

An idea was born...

In January 2012, my friends and I started a Twitter campaign with the hashtag '#BeAnOrganDonor' and it was AWESOME! They called what happened The Helene Effect.

Organ donation is a cause that is quite literally near and dear to my heart. In Ontario, someone dies every three days waiting for a life saving procedure. There are no age restrictions to being a donor, and one organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and improve that quality of lives for 75 people. Lets not forget about the donation of bone marrow and blood. The decision to give provides people relief and take the definition of philanthropy to a whole new level.

If you want to know more about organ and tissue donation, click here.

Love you lung time, sweeties.