TOLEDO, Ohio — Beth Winhusen of Cincinnati is doing things she couldn't do just a couple of years ago and it's thanks to a woman she'll never get to meet.
That woman is Ali Held Herman.
"Supermom," Jeremy Herman, Ali's husband, said. "She loved to be outside. She ran everyday, worked out every day."
So when Ali, 35, suddenly died from a brain aneurysm two years ago, it was a shock to say the least. But her family knew something good could come from tragedy. The mother of three young children would live on as an organ donor.
"Initially, I was okay," Loren Held, Ali's father, said. "I was happy with it. I'm an organ donor as well, so we understood. But to see what it's become, how much good there is out of it, I never thought in a million years it would be so beneficial to recipients. It's a miracle with Beth walking around here."
Ali has saved five lives through organ donation and touched dozens more.
"We got a letter in the mail last week or the week before for bone grafts, tissue, her corneas, plus all the major organs was probably 50 [people] at least," Jeremy said.
They got to meet one of them in Beth, who holds Ali's heart.
"Overwhelmed. Beyond blessed. We have loved them before we met them," Beth said. "We've been texting back and forth for many, many months but there's nothing like seeing them in person and saying thank you."
They gathered at Mercy Health St. Vincent's Hospital in central Toledo Friday, the place where they said goodbye to Ali years ago. Ali's husband, children, parents and other close relatives and friends would take turns with a stethoscope listening to their loved one's heart beat on during a rare meeting between organ donor and recipient families. Life Connection of Ohio provides on-going support and helped facilitate the meeting.
"I just felt it was the presence of Ali walking in with her and (she) was just so grateful," Cyndi Held, Ali's mother, said. "The gratitude that she gave us and feeling so sad that we lost her, but seeing that gift going on. There's just no words."
A number of years ago Beth's heart became damaged when she got an infection during a hospital stay. About three years ago, she learned there was nothing else the doctors could do. She needed a new heart, and she got one.
"I've been told it is so healthy because she was so athletic and took such good care of herself," Beth said of Ali's heart.
Now, Beth enjoys hiking in the woods with her husband and doesn't take a single day for granted.
"Everyday is a gift from God and this new heart I have," Beth said. "Just every sunrise, every sunset, every moment that I walk, that I breathe. All I can do is cry and say thank you."
Ali's family encourages other organ recipients to reach out to their donor families. They said there's nothing to feel bad about and it helps them heal.
If you would like to learn more about organ donation, click here.