Ramblings' Journal

King update: long recovery road ahead

Speech is slowly beginning to return to Coretta Scott King, who remains in Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital this evening.

But first, let me take a moment to apologize to anyone who I offended with my comments regarding Mrs. King the other day. They were harsh, and stepped a bit over the line.

Mrs. King suffered a small heart attack in addition to the severe stroke she suffered Tuesday. The conditions left her unable to speak and with little motor control in the right side of her body. Doctors today have indicated that some speech is returning to Mrs. King.

"She said a few words today. We're very encouraged by that," said Dr. Maggie Mermin, who has treated Mrs. King for the past 10 years. Mermin said the 78-year-old civil rights matriarch is in good spirits.

"She gets frustrated at times as anyone would who can't speak but generally is upbeat. She's very tough. She's always been in excellent health up (until) now and she's encouraged when she's able to speak a few words."

"She's able to respond but when a speech therapist asks her to do some things like sing some songs she already knew, she can do that (and) count. She can do some things so she's beginning to get her speech back," Mermin said. In her youth, Mrs. King studied concert singing at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music.

"She has the thought. She clearly wants to communicate it and she can't get the words out."

Doctors said King had suffered a severe stroke and a minor heart attack, both of which were caused by a single blood clot.

The blood clot traveled from the atrium to the left side of King's brain and a tiny part of it affected her heart. The area of the brain damaged by the clot affects both speech and motor function on the right side of the body, Dr. Mermin said.

King is currently taking two blood thinners -- Heparin and Coumadin -- to keep new clots from forming. King must now learn how to speak again and use the right side of her body. She can swallow and take in nutrition.

Doctors have said that the road to recovery for Mrs. King is a long one. I pray that the journey is shorter than the doctors forsee, and that God's hand will help hasten her path back to full health.

And again, I apologize for anyone who I offended previously.

Posted by mhking at August 19, 2005 10:07 PM | TrackBack