Mine Survivor Shows Improvement

"Miracle" mine explosion survivor Randal McCloy remained in critical condition from an extended lack of oxygen Thursday morning at West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital.

He was on a respirator and in a coma, but somehow managed to respond to his wife, through facial expressions and squeezing her hand, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.

That gives his family hope.

"As a mother, I'm just — you know, I'm waiting for them to have him to the point where he's not medicated and I can see him acting like himself and I can be able to determine in my own mind how he is," said McCloy's mother, Tambra Flint.

McCloy did not like working in the mines but stuck it out for three years because it enabled him to provide for his wife and two children, a 4-year-old son Randal III and 1-year-old daughter Isabel, family members said. Mining paid more than his old job, working as an electrician.

"He just wanted to provide for his family, you know. That way Anna (his wife) could stay home with the kids," Flint said. "He wanted to get out of this as soon as he possibly could."

McCloy was rescued early Wednesday after being trapped in the Sago Mine near Tallmansville for more than 42 hours.

"I know he was fighting to stay alive for his family because his family was his No. 1 priority," said Rick McGee, McCloy's brother-in-law and a fellow miner who lives next door to McCloy.

"We have seen some improvement in his cardiac function, some improvement in his pulmonary function. And his kidneys are producing some urine right now, so his kidneys are starting to come back," Dr. John Prescott, dean of the School of Medicine at West Virginia University, told Early Show co-anchor René Syler.

"It's too early for us to tell about the brain damage and his overall neurological condition," Prescott added.

McCloy may be the only person able to shed light on what happened during the 42 hours he and his coal colleagues were trapped 260 feet below the surface. Twelve other miners died. One is believed to have died from the initial explosion. One or more of the others may have left notes, but officials have not yet confirmed that.

McCloy was the youngest of the 13 miners — most of the others were in their 50s — and that was likely a major factor in his survival.

"We are certainly looking at the fact that he is a young, healthy man, in good shape. And we know that with any incident of trauma or serious illness, that makes a big difference," said Prescott.

"My brother is a fighter. He is strong. He is just an incredible guy. It takes a special kind of person to be a miner," said Chris McCloy.

McGee says McCloy likes to pass the time walking in the woods looking for deer.

"He is a typical guy, liked hunting, fishing, sports, fast cars," McGee said.

Ben Hatfield, president and CEO of International Coal Group, which owns the mine, guessed that McCoy may have been deeper in a barricade area that he and 11 other miners created after the explosion early Monday, and therefore further from toxic gases. The 13th miner died in another location.

While McGee said he plans to return to mining as soon as he recovers from back surgery, McCloy likely will not.

"His wife said he's not going back," McGee said. "And she rules."

Anna McCloy, looking pale and exhausted, attended a news conference at the hospital Wednesday but did not answer questions.

"Just ask everybody to keep on praying," she said.