Atlanta ? Coretta Scott King – wife of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. – managed to say a few words on Friday and “clearly wants to communicate,” but her physician said she might not recover fully from a stroke.

King, 78, suffered the stroke Tuesday morning when a blood clot became lodged in the part of her brain that controls speech, said Dr. Margaret Mermin. She has not been able to walk or speak since then.

“Emotionally, she’s doing as well as she can be expected. She gets frustrated at times,” said Mermin, King’s personal physician for 10 years. “She can point to pictures and words when she wants to communicate : and her spirits are actually very good.”