CORRECTED - Survivor of W. Virginia mine disaster in a coma

Reuters ^ | January 5, 2006 | Jon Hurdle

[La Enchiladita]

BUCKHANNON, W. Va., Jan 5 (Reuters) - The sole survivor of a mine disaster that killed 12 men lay in a coma on Thursday as residents of the tight-knit West Virginia community struggled to understand the latest tragedy in the history of this dangerous profession.

But doctors feared that Randal McCloy, the only survivor among 13 miners trapped underground for 42 hours after an explosion on Monday morning at the Sago mine in Tallmansville, could suffer some brain damage as a result of his ordeal.

Though mining disasters are nothing new, this one was made more poignant by the fact that initial reports said 12 of the men had survived, prompting three hours of jubilation that quickly turned to despair when the reality became apparent.

Denver Anderson, 61, part of a second group of miners who experienced the blast but emerged unhurt, said he did not blame the mining company and believed the cause was a lightning strike.

"I don't think the company could have done anything about it," he told reporters near Sago Baptist Church.

Doctors at the West Virginia University hospital where McCloy was being treated said they had stopped administering sedatives but he had yet to regain consciousness in an indication of possible brain damage.

"His condition remains guarded, remains serious. He's a critically ill patient," Dr John Prescott told reporters, adding that McCloy was using a breathing tube and was on dialysis to help his kidneys. He was also being treated for damage to his liver.

"At this time we believe the (sedative) medicines we have given him are wearing off and we believe he is in a state of coma," Prescott said, adding that he could not predict when McCloy, a 27-year-old father of two, might wake up.

[La Enchiladita]

Denver Anderson, 61, part of a second group of miners who experienced the blast but emerged unhurt, said he did not blame the mining company and believed the cause was a lightning strike.

"I don't think the company could have done anything about it," he told reporters near Sago Baptist Church.

You won't hear that on the evening news, nor read it in any major metropolitan newspapers.

Now, hush up, Reuters.

[rellimpank]

--b--

[StarCMC]

Prayers for these families.

[La Enchiladita]

Amen. I tried to find a list of names of those who died and couldn't. Perhaps not published yet...

[Graybeard58]

U.S.A Today published a list of those who died but I don't have a link to it.

[HomersNose]

I couldn't find the list on Fox-News so reluctantly I had to go to here http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/04/miners.bios.ap/

[La Enchiladita]

Good on you! They have profiled 8, just as USAToday has, so I'll wait until we know who all 12 were. Thanks so much.

[infidel dog]

My prayers go out to those poor souls and their families. Truly a tragedy. Amazingly, I heard a fragment of a newscast this morning-on the ever-loathesome NPR, what the hell do you expect-blaming the Bush administration for neglecting mine safety and drawing nostalgic comparisons with the righteous glory of the Clinton regime. These people are the lowest sort of scum. I'd like to take Steve Inskee, or whatever his name is, Nina Totenberg, David Folkenflick, Garrison Keillor and anyone else associated with this den of left-wing degenerates and drag them into their respective town squares, hang them by their feet, soak them with gasoline, strike a match and then toast marshmallows over their smoking, carbonized corpses. I'll dance in the streets the day the American Left is exterminated like the vermin they are.

[Roccus]

For more on lightning strike see


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550633/posts?page=2913#2913

Also post #2919

[La Enchiladita]

So sorry. I didn't read carefully all the way down. Here are the names of the 12 men who died in the Sago mine.

Thomas P. Anderson
Alva Martin Bennett
Jim Bennett
Jerry Groves
George Hamner Jr
Terry Helms
Jesse L. Jones
David Lewis
Martin Toler
Fred Ware Jr.
Jack Weaver
Marshall Winans

[La Enchiladita]

Seems highly credible to me.
I expect this truth to get buried or spun beyond recognition.

[Roccus]

Nah, the gov't. inspectors are very good. They'll find out what happened.
If the MSM doesn't report on it, I will.
This investigation will probably take a few months though.

[La Enchiladita]

"What do you expect?" is right.

Was it accidental that you listened to mind-poisoning NPR?

Last night and this morning, I googled this topic and the headlines alone are sickening; predictable but sickening.

BTW, I think we have a credible explanation with this lightning strike.

[Iwo Jima]

they had stopped administering sedatives but he had yet to regain consciousness..

This is not a good sign. Given the initial reports, I was more optimistic. There is still hope, but the odds are not good. This indicates some degree of permanent brain damage.

However, I recently read about new thinking about the way the brain can adapt to permanent damage. Even though brain cells do not recover, it seems that other, undamaged parts of the brain can "step up to the plate" and take over responsibility for functions which were previously done by the damaged areas, something which had long been thought just could not happen.

Here's hoping that happens for Mr. McCloy.

[La Enchiladita]

Now that you mention it, I may have heard that same new information about the brain. Our bodies have awesome healing capabilities and Mr. McCloy has two small children to live for. But, the more trauma we experience, the less our chances of recovering.

[infidel dog]

No, my exposure to NPR wasn't accidental. Sometimes I set my clock/radio to NPR to bring my morning blood pressure up to operating level. The preposterousness of that broadcast and its brazen left-wing cheerleading caught me like a smack in the chops though, I've got to admit...

[La Enchiladita]

You must be YOUNG.
My blood pressure shot up a year ago, and now I make every effort to keep it down. So, for me, it's wakin' up to Enya.
(grin)