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 the blood test soon enough,” Ray recalled. “They called my wife and rushed me down to the ER.”

Ray was unconscious when he arrived at the hospital. Exploratory surgery would be required so the doctors placed him in an induced coma.

Sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection. The immune system starts attacking the healthy organs and tissues, which can lead to extensive inflammation throughout the body. It can also lead to the formation of blood clots which restrict the flow of blood to the organs.

Ray was in septic shock, the severest level of sepsis. Then his liver hemorrhaged.

“When I was in the coma my liver hemorrhaged, causing the immediate need for blood,” Ray said. “The hemorrhaging was so bad, I was cut from my sternum to my waist for the exploratory surgery, that it was pushing my innards out of the incision.”

He continued, “Luckily there happened to be a medical student in my room taking my vitals for class. The student noticed the growing pool of blood under my bed. This poor student was holding me together while screaming for help.”

Ray’s hospital room became his operating room as a team of doctors and nurses worked to stop the hemorrhaging. His liver was packed with gauze to stem the flow of his liver.

“I was the first person at Maine Medical Center to have two machines simultaneously hooked up to me,” recalled Ray. “They (the medical team) couldn’t get the blood into me fast enough.”

Over the next few days, Ray needed a combination of 77 units of red blood cells, platelets, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate. Although Ray’s body recovered, he had lost significant weight and muscle.

After almost five weeks in the hospital and weeks of therapy, Ray felt that there was something he needed to do.

“When I pulled through and got through rehab, we knew we wanted to pay it back,” he remembered. “We wanted to show genuine appreciation for what the doctors and nurses do.” 

Ray and his wife, Juanicke, formed the RaysUp campaign, which sponsored and organized blood drives in Maine.

“Our mission was to give back those 77 units that I needed,” said Ray. “We have to get that inventory back on the shelves for the next person.”

A year later, partnering with the American Red Cross, the first RaysUp Blood Drive was hosted at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. 

Ray still remembers his pitch to park management. 

“I want to have blood drives at the Maine Wildlife Park. I want to create a culture and drive where families can come together and can give back. People can come together to create something great; to give back to the community and replenish the units.”

For the next few years, the RaysUp drive at the wildlife park became an annual event, utilizing the Red Cross mobile donation vehicle – a bus,  dubbed “the Turtle," designed for the specific purpose of supporting mobile blood drives.

The RaysUp campaign expanded and found other locations that generously agreed to host blood drives. That first mobile blood drive collected 44 units of blood. Since its inception, the RaysUp campaign has collected 400 units from blood donors, allowing Ray to “restock the inventory” that was used to save his life and pay it forward for others’ needs.

Since then, Ray joined the Red Cross full time as the district manager of donor recruitment in Maine.

“I’m living proof that blood donations save lives,” Ray concluded. “If that blood wasn’t there when I needed it, I wouldn’t be talking to you now.” 

Find local blood donation opportunities here or download the Red Cross Blood Donor App. Interested in hosting a blood drive? Click here to learn more.