LOUISVILLE — With tears streaming down her face, Mona Walker sat waiting in a chapel at the Cathedral of the Assumption this weekend, clutching a bouquet of crimson roses.

        It had been five months since her son, 18-year-old T.C. Walker, died in an accident, and she was preparing to meet Rose Ganote, the woman who had received T.C.'s heart.

        Although both are from Louisville, Ms. Walker knew little about Ms. Ganote — or the 99 other people that T.C. helped by donating all of his organs.

        But when Ms. Ganote, 59, walked into the chapel, Ms. Walker stood and embraced her as if they were longtime friends.

        “There's no words to express what he has done — and you all especially for carrying it through,” Ms. Ganote told Ms. Walker, her husband, Todd, and T.C.'s girlfriend, Lacy Goetz.

        Mona Walker dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “His heart lives on in Rose,” she told Ms. Ganote and her husband, Charles. “I can look at her and know he's in there.”

        Until Sunday, Ms. Ganote, whose own heart was enlarged, didn't know who had donated the heart that saved her life.

        The meeting was prompted by Ms. Ganote's daughter, Lisa Ralston, who suggested that her mother honor the mystery donor by dedicating a gold star painted on the cathedral's vaulted, deep-blue ceiling.

        Ms. Ganote agreed — and “purchased” a star from the Cathedral Heritage Foundation by donating money. Hundreds of stars are scattered across the ceiling; donors can sponsor one in someone's honor.

        The heart transplant and Sunday's meeting were especially poignant for Ms. Ganote. In 1984, her brother Charles “Leroy” Booth had been selected to become the first heart-transplant recipient in Kentucky. However, he died just days before a suitable organ was found.

        Ms. Ganote marveled that nearly 20 years later, she got the heart her brother never did.

        Her benefactor — Todd C. Walker — died July 19 of head injuries suffered when he fell off the back of a truck. Within hours of his death, his heart was beating in Ms. Ganote's chest.

        T.C. had told his father years ago that if he died, he wanted to donate his organs. When he turned 16 and earned his driver's license, T.C. signed the back and reminded his family of his wishes.

        Janet Mart, of the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, said T.C.'s gift has helped about 100 people because his tissue was also donated.

        The families of donors and recipients sometimes choose not to meet, said Ms. Mart, who arranged Sunday's meeting. But this occasion seemed especially appropriate, Ms. Mart said, because the star was donated during the holidays.

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