Surviving miner develops slight fever
West Virginia mining disaster survivor Randal McCloy has been responding to stimuli, but has developed a slight fever and remains in critical condition, doctors said today.
McCloy, 26, was taken off sedation yesterday and has been breathing without the help of a ventilator, though he remains connected to the device, said Dr Larry Roberts, his attending physician at West Virginia University’s Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.
“Randy has developed a fever, which is a common occurrence in any patient’s intensive care course,” he said. “This is almost an expected complication.”
McCloy, the only survivor among 13 men trapped by a January 2 explosion, was rescued about 42 hours after the blast.
He was transferred back to the West Virginia hospital on Saturday night after undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which forces pressurised oxygen into the body to fight carbon monoxide poisoning, at Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital.
Doctors plan to start physical therapy later Monday to exercise McCloy’s muscles and promote blood flow through his arms and legs, which appear to have become more reactive to stimulation.
Dr Julian Bailes, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, said McCloy was still in a “moderate coma.”
Last night, the hospital had said it was unclear whether sedatives had completely cleared McCloy’s body.
He said it was still too early to make an accurate prognosis about McCloy’s recovery, but his brain stem appears to be completely normal.
“He is likely one of the longest survivors of this sort of exposure, not only carbon monoxide, but the other circumstances in the mine, for about 42 hours,” Bailes said.
The update on McCloy’s condition came as funerals were set to continue for the 12 miners.
Services for Thomas Anderson, Marshall Winans and Jim Bennett were scheduled for today.
As the community grieves, the work of uncovering why the miners died resumes in earnest today.
Federal investigators were at Sago Mine over the weekend, but no one will be allowed into the mine until carbon monoxide and other deadly gases are vented.
International Coal Group Inc. said in a statement that the mine’s fan was working and circulating air through the mine.
A pair of ventilation holes have been completed, and the company was working on a pilot hole for a planned vent in the area of the mine where the explosion apparently happened.
Gov Joe Manchin planned a news conference today to provide an update on the state’s effort in the wake of the disaster.
Also today, West Virginia Sen Robert Byrd said officials from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration would be called before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing before the end of the month to testify about the agency’s response to the disaster.
“The families of the Sago miners deserve to know what happened in that mine. Just as importantly, miners and their families across this country want to know that steps are being taken to prevent others from ever experiencing such pain,” Byrd said in a statement.
Like most of those held yesterday, today’s memorials were to be private gatherings, with the media asked not to intrude after the heartbreak of the miners’ deaths played out last week on live television.
ICG said in a statement that it is paying for all of the miners’ funeral expenses, but that chief executive Ben Hatfield is not attending the services to avoid creating additional stress on the families.
