TORONTO - She can't speak yet, nor can she eat, but that hasn't stopped her from continuing her crusade.

Helene Campbell -- who became the unofficial face of organ donation in Canada after attracting celebrity endorsements for her cause -- is still recovering after a double-lung transplant but is progressing well, doctors said Tuesday.

While she hasn't been able to talk because of the breathing tubes attached to her throat, her mother said if Campbell could speak, she'd spread the same message she always has.

"BeADonor.ca is what she would say," Manon Campbell told The Canadian Press, referring to the website that encourages people to become registered organ and tissue donors.

"What she hopes in all of this is that it will bring people to action."

Helene Campbell was diagnosed with advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis last October and underwent surgery at Toronto General Hospital earlier this month.

Doctors say the 21-year-old Ottawa woman's 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.

"It took away our focus on the negative part of her illness to say; well, we can still do something positive to make a difference, maybe not for Helene, but at least for other people that are waiting," said Campbell's mother.

For her family, Campbell's progress is incredibly heartening.

"It's encouraging to see her actually doing the treadmill, being able to raise her arms up in the air for a few moments and try to dance to a song," said Manon Campbell.

"She is being realistic though. She does know that today was a good day, she felt strong. Tomorrow she may be a little bit more tired, but it's one day at a time, one step at a time."

When Helene Campbell does shimmy her shoulders to a song, it's often one by pop superstar Justin Bieber, who helped catapult her into the spotlight by endorsing her campaign.

Campbell later appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show via Skype and has been invited to return in person once she recovers.

Even before Campbell steps in front of the cameras though, her mother says there's a smaller goal she's working toward.

"Right now her goal is to eat again," she said. She can't wait to savour orange juice with pop, she said that will be her first request."

Campbell has already suffered a few setbacks -- she had breathing problems after initially being taken off a ventilator, prompting doctors to re-insert a breathing tube and perform a tracheostomy.

The procedure made a surgical hole in her throat, allowing for the insertion of a tube which could be connected to a ventilator.

She has also been receiving steroids to combat the early onset of rejection and has been treated for a lung infection.

But despite the "roller-coaster ride" described by her parents, doctors said Campbell spent her first full night without a ventilator on Monday.

"This is definitely a major milestone moving forward," said Dr. Tom Waddell, who led the 10-member team performing the transplant.

Campbell is now walking on a treadmill, sitting up in a chair, doing special breathing exercises and will likely be moved out of the Intensive Care Unit within the next few days, he said.

Campbell has been keeping her supporters posted on her progress through her blog -- alungstory.ca -- and her Twitter account, which currently boasts more than 14,000 followers.

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

The president of the Trillium Gift of Life Network -- Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency -- said the organization 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 an even more personal story, Campbell's father said a recent obituary -- which said a man's wish to donate his organs was inspired by Campbell's journey -- shows his daughter's crusade is really working.

"Wow, an immediate impact," said a visibly emotional Alan Campbell after reading out part of the obituary.

"We will not know, as a family, the details of Helene's donor or the donor's family. We can only trust that our message of deep and abiding appreciation will reach them even as they grieve the loss of their loved one."

"My daughter has life because of that gift."