Victim's Family Grieves, Worries -- Good Samaritan's Children Have Fragile Health

Patrick Moon was an unstoppable worker, good natured and willing to lend a hand - he was smiling as he stopped to help clear a roadway during last Wednesday's windstorm.

A short time later, Moon, 36, a concrete mixer and driver, was killed by a tree that blew over on him as he worked along the Maple Valley Highway.

Now, his wife and children face pain and uncertainty.

Without power until yesterday because of the storm, the Moons remained in their Kent home - using the fireplace and a propane heater for warmth - rather than stay with neighbors or family who did have electricity.

"It was too hard to leave what little bit we have left," said Mary Moon, 30.

To make matters worse, medical coverage for the family expires in two months as a result of Patrick's death.

That's a frightening thought for Mary Moon, a homemaker who must care for three young children, one of whom is physically and developmentally disabled.

"Family and friends have all been really supportive, but I don't know what I'm going to do about insurance," she said. "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

Because they were born three months premature, 3-year-old Michael and his twin sister, Breanna, required hospitalization and constant medical care, totaling $1 million.

Doctors warned that the children would always need medical attention for complications that developed during birth.

Breanna has chronic lung disease, which is treatable at home. But Michael has had kidney problems, hernias and seizures, and has undergone four operations to drain fluid from his brain. He is due for another brain operation this year.

Still, Mary Moon remains optimistic. She hopes to go back to school and work as a nurse if Michael's condition improves.

"Anything's possible," she said. "We'll have to wait and see. The doctors said my kids would die and never walk, but Michael is a good, determined child . . . a lot like his dad."

Also surviving Moon are Travis, 4, and Jason, 13, a son from a previous marriage.

Co-workers at Stoneway Concrete in Renton, where Patrick Moon worked, have taken up a collection to help pay for six more months of medical insurance for the family. Another fund to pay for additional needs is also being set up in his name at Stoneway.

Two other men were hit by the tree that killed Patrick Moon. One was paralyzed from the chest down; the other suffered a broken leg.

"That was his nature to help people," said Moon's widow. "He'd drop everything if he thought someone needed help. One of the people who was with him during the storm said Pat was smiling and laughing the whole time they were clearing the road."

Mike Martinson, a friend of the family, recalled the day Patrick Moon laid the concrete for Martinson's sidewalk.

"It was raining and he was dripping wet," said Martinson. "But he worked anyway. He was a perfectionist, always willing to lend a hand."

Rich Melewski, a longtime co-worker and one of Patrick Moon's closest friends, says he will miss their many camping outings and fishing trips to Lake Quincy in Eastern Washington.

"His dad used to work at Stoneway, and we called him Full Moon," said Melewski. "Of course, we called Pat Half Moon. Everyone will miss him."

This week, Mary Moon plans to take Travis to Stoneway and let him sit in his dad's truck for the last time.

"Pat used to take him to to finish concrete with him," said Mary. "He'd sit in the truck with him and help out, wearing his dad's work boots and all."