Maine man pays it forward after donated blood and a bit of a miracle saved his life
David Ullman, Red Cross writer In 2013, Ray Poulin was placed in an induced coma. His body was fighting an infection. His kidneys were shutting down. His liver was hemorrhaging at a catastrophic rate. Next to his hospital bed, a pair of blood transfusers were forcing blood into Ray’s veins to keep him alive. Doctors informed his wife and two young daughters that his chance of surviving this trauma was slim – in fact, it would require a miracle. Ray’s ordeal began at home. He felt horrible and was experiencing alternating bouts of hot flashes and cold sweats. A severe flu was his self-diagnosis. Then, after a few days of without the symptoms abating, his temperature spiked to 106 degrees. An ambulance was called to take Ray to the hospital. Doctors brought his fever under control and Ray was released from the hospital. He followed up with his primary care physician who, studying the results of the recent blood work, diagnosed that Ray had sepsis. “Luckily they got the results back from
