HEALTHMary Lou Retton Healing at Home After Life-Threatening Pneumonia Battle: She Has a 'Long Road of Recovery Ahead,' Her Daughter Reveals
Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is officially on the mend!
On Monday, October 23, her daughter McKenna Kelley shared an optimistic update, revealing the former athlete, 55, is out of the hospital after a nasty bout of pneumonia.
Mary Lou Retton is out of the hospital after enduring a rare form of pneumonia.
"Mom is HOME & in recovery mode. We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps," Kelley wrote on Instagram. "We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn't scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts. Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community of support."
The happy news comes as quite a shock considering that on Wednesday, October 18, Retton's eldest daughter, Shayla Schrepfer, said her mom suffered a "scary setback" one day prior.
The former athlete had a 'scary setback' last week, but she's now healing at home.
“Basically at the beginning of this week we were going on the up and up. We were so excited, seeing so much progress and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback," she continued. "She is still in ICU and we're just working through some things as far as her setback goes. So I just wanted to give an update there."
News of Retton's health crisis made headlines earlier this month, as her kids started a funding page to help them pay for the medical expenses since the star doesn't have insurance.
The icon's children started a funding page since Retton doesn't have health insurance.
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"Hey everyone! On behalf of my sisters and I, we need y’all’s help. My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life," Kelley's message read. "She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details."
"However, I will disclose that she's not insured. We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill. ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!" she added.
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The family received immediate support, and though their goal was $50,000, as of Monday, October 23, they hit over $450,000!
The gymnastics icon's loved ones have rallied around her since the start of her illness, with her old Dancing With the Stars partner, Sasha Farber — whom she competed with in 2018 — insisting that he knew she would pull through.
Retton has four daughters.
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"I've been talking to her today and she's fighting," he shared earlier this month. "She kind of wants to give up, but I'm sending her videos of her dancing and I'm telling her, 'There's only one Mary Lou Retton. You've got this!'"
