US mine disaster survivor returns home
It wasn’t a fancy US homecoming, just some red balloons, handmade signs, a lot of hugs and his wife’s home-made lasagne - but it was everything the only survivor of the Sago Mine disaster wanted after a three-month recovery that continues to amaze doctors.
He is thin and still a bit unsteady on his feet, but Randal McCloy. Was strong enough yesterday to leave the Morgantown rehabilitation hospital in West Virginia where he has spent two months in intensive therapy, recovering from a severe brain injury and regaining his physical strength.
The scene would have been hard to imagine on January 4, when a critically-injured McCloy was carried out of the mine 41 hours after an explosion that left 12 fellow miners dead.
“I’d just like to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers,” he said softly at a news conference with his wife, Anna.
He paused, then added, “I believe that’s it.”
An hour later, when he arrived at his grey and blue trailer home in Simpson, relatives shouted out greetings and small children blew whistles.
Missy McGee, Anna McCloy’s sister, said she knew he would enjoy the fuss.
