W.Va. mine blast survivor's rehab slow, uncertain

By JOHN RABY Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A man injured in an explosion that killed 29 people at a West Virginia coal mine is struggling to form sentences more than a month after the blast.

Sherry Lilly says her father, James Woods, suffered bruised lungs and brain trauma in the April 5 disaster. Woods was exposed to carbon monoxide that starved his brain of oxygen.

Lilly says her father's speech and memory pose the biggest challenges. Progress is measured a few syllables at a time. Woods often speaks in a whisper and his sentences are short. Sometimes it's difficult for him to remember members of his family.

The 54-year-old was recently transferred from a Charleston hospital to a rehab facility in North Carolina.