Mining Disaster Survivor Randy McCloy, KC8VKZ, Reported
Improving
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 20, 2006--There's encouraging news this
week on the medical condition of Randy McCloy, KC8VKZ, the sole survivor of the
January 2 Sago mining disaster in West Virginia. Rick Robinson, W8ZT, reports
he spoke with McCloy's brother-in-law, Rick McGee January 18, and received an
upbeat report on the 26-year-old miner's progress.
"He was sitting up in bed and eating ice chips," he said.
"His dialysis treatments have been reduced to every other day as his kidney
function [is returning]." Other reports say McCloy's heart and liver functions
have improved, his muscle deterioration has abated, his neurological condition
is stable and he's been breathing on his own. His doctors say McCloy exhibits
"purposeful movements" and appears to be responding to his family.
Robinson says McGee told him that McCloy's wife, Anna,
expressed appreciation from the outpouring of good wishes from the Amateur
Radio community and elsewhere.
"His family wants to thank everyone for the cards and
letters that arrive daily in the large plastic postal bins," he said. "The mail
keeps his wife occupied and gives her consolation that so many think of her and
her husband and family." Randy and Anna McCloy live in Simpson, West Virginia, and have two young children. A Technician class licensee, McCloy is a
relatively new radio amateur, according to Robinson.
Well-wishers have been sending cards and QSLs to McCloy at
PO Box 223, Philippi, WV 26435.
The Charleston Gazette reported January 19 that
McCloy was out of intensive care and likely will be able to leave West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown within a week or two for a rehabilitation
facility. His physicians say it's difficult to predict how fully McCloy will
recover over the long haul, however, because his case is unusual. McCoy was the
only miner among 13 men trapped for more than 40 hours in an Upshur County coal mine that filled with deadly carbon monoxide following a January 2 explosion.
McCloy reportedly is eligible for immediate medical and
wage-replacement benefits as well as for workers compensation benefits based on
the extent of his injuries. In addition, a fund has been set up to accept
donations for his benefit: the Randal McCloy Jr Fund, c/o Clear Mountain Bank, 1889 Earl Core Rd, Morgantown, WV 26505.
According to "The Checkout" column of The
Washington Post, federal and state authorities have warned consumers about a
bogus e-mail seeking donations to aid McCloy. "The Checkout" reports that
e-mails claiming to be from Dr Lawrence Roberts, McCloy's primary physician,
describe the young miner's condition and seek monetary donations for his
treatment.
"The Checkout" editor Caroline Mayer advises those who
have received such e-mails to consider contacting the Internet Crime Complaint
Center (IC3).
Page last modified: 01:06 PM, 20 Jan 2006 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2006, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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