Miraculously Recovered Mine Worker, Randal McCloy, Home from Rehab Center Today

News Staff / Aimee Herd reporting : Mar 30, 2006
AP, KDKA.com

That was the simple statement of gratitude from Randal McCloy, as he left the rehab hospital he had been recovering in for about three months. McCloy was the lone survivor of the Sago mine disaster in West Virginia, which happened in early January, when 12 of McCloy's co-workers died.

Looking thin and a little unsteady walking, McCloy arrived home at his white trailer in Simpson, amid shouts of joy from family members, children's noisemakers and red balloons. Anna McCloy's sister Missy McGee remarked, "He used to be the quiet type, but since this has happened, he's been very, very verbal."

"If he saw a crowd before, he would walk around it," McGee added. "But it's not the same now. It's good to see him this way. He has a new lease on life."

According to the AP report, Randal McCloy has even asked his wife Anna to "remarry him."

Doctors had been amazed at McCloy's steady recovery, regaining his ability to move, speak and think. According to studies, the brain normally doesn't recover well from carbon monoxide poisoning and oxygen deprivation. McCloy is considered a "medical miracle," since he not only survived and recovered, but did so in only three months - half the time doctors estimated rehabilitation would take, if at all.

Randal attributes his survival and healing to God, saying, "Because of Him, I am here."

Dr. Julian Bailes, a Neurosurgeon who first cared for McCloy in the West Virginia University Hospital and then at the rehab facility twice-a-week, stated that McCloy can remember some parts of his time trapped in the mine and has "reacted appropriately to the tragedy."

"What surprises me the most is the quality of his outcome, and how early it's occurred," added Dr. Bailes. "He certainly has a lot of emotions and feelings for losing his friends. If he weren't discussing it or dealing with it, that would be a bad sign for his brain recovery, and a bad psychological sign. So we're glad he's going through that and processing it."

"There are 12 families who are in our thoughts and prayers today and every day," said Anna, regarding the relatives of the workers who did not make it out of the mine alive.

Gov. Joe Manchin announced in honor of McCloy's miraculous recovery, the rural street where he lives will henceforth be called, "Miracle Road." "We didn't get the 13 miracles we hoped for," the governor said. "We did get one."

Randal McCloy has said he does not plan to return to the mining industry.