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For Ray Kordek Work and Community Service Are One
Eric Monahan
Wednesday, August 25, 2004 — In the summer of 2002, numerous tests uncovered an unusual form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which had started to damage Ray Kordek’s bone marrow. Ray began Chemotherapy and received several blood product transfusions. After six cycles, Ray’s oncologist told him the disease was gone. Two weeks later, however, Ray and his family were devastated by news that the cancer had re-attacked his bone marrow and was now also attacking his central nervous system. A bone marrow transplant was his only chance for survival.
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| Ray Kordek taking blood from a donor |
During the transplant process, Ray was under the care of an American Red Cross technician whose compassion and knowledge brought unexpected encouragement and hope. The technician’s kindness stimulated Ray’s desire to one day become a member of the Red Cross community—to give back to an organization that gave so much to him. Ray promised himself and his wife that should he live, he was going to find a way to serve with the American Red Cross.
Ray lived to tell about his back and forth battle with cancer—and he kept his promise. When he recovered, Ray left his 12-year commercial lending profession and started a new career as a collections technician with the Tennessee Valley Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross headquartered in Nashville. Serving at one or two blood drives per day, Ray takes the health history of potential donors, checks their vital signs, and draws their
blood. All the while, Ray uses his position as an opportunity to show the same compassion that
he was shown by his Red Cross technician and seeks to inspire others to give blood, and to
keep giving, so that more lives like his own can be saved.
The American Red Cross provides nearly half of the nation’s blood supply (collecting more than 6 million units a year from volunteer donors) to patients in 3,000 hospitals across the country through its national network. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood. The Red Cross must collect blood donations each and every day to meet the needs of accident victims, cancer patients and children with blood disorders, and the organization works to accomplish this through its 36 Blood Services regions. Please call today to make your appointment to give the gift of life. Call 1-800 GIVE LIFE to schedule your donation or to sponsor a blood drive.
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