FORMER Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton has spoken out after a significant health battle that left her bed ridden in the ICU.
Mary Lou, 55, famously grabbed a gold medal in the individual all-around competition for the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
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She also won two silver medals and two bronze medals that year.
Her performance in 1984 gained her attention and praise around the nation, but this past year, she found herself confronting a new challenge — battling a rare form of pneumonia, per People.
Mary Lou was diagnosed and placed in the ICU in Houston, Texas, this past fall, where she said she was “fighting for her life.”
In a preview of an upcoming special that the Olympic medalist had with Today’s Hoda Kotb, she explained that she remains “on oxygen” while recovering alongside her daughter, Shayla Kelley.
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While responding to a suggestion from Kotb in the interview, Mary Lou noted that she remains in a “vulnerable state” and is typically “very private” about her personal matters.
Mary Lou said that the pneumonia got so bad at one point that medical staff were set to put her on life support.
“Usually my interviews are, ‘Oh, yeah, it felt great to win the Olympics,’ you know?” she said while speaking with Kotb.
“This is serious and this is life.”
“I’m so grateful to be here,” Mary Lou added.
“I am blessed to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.”
It was first reported in October that Mary Lou was battling pneumonia courtesy of her other daughter, McKenna Kelley.
“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” she wrote on a Spotfund page to raise money to assist with Mary Lou’s medical costs.
McKenna noted that her mother was “not insured.”
Mary Lou’s eldest daughter, Shayla, said at the time that the family was focused “on the well-being of our mom,” per People.
The Olympic star’s family noted in October that they were “excited” at the recovery she’d made, but things were looking grim and complicated for some time through the fall of 2023.
“We were so excited, seeing so much progress and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback,” Shayla said.
“She is still in ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.”
Several weeks later, Mary Lou was finally released, with McKenna making an elated post on Instagram of the news.
“HOME & in recovery mode,” McKenna wrote.
“We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps.”
Mary Lou spoke out a week after McKenna’s post on the platform.
“I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process,” she wrote in her own statement.
“When the time is right, I will be sharing more information about my health issues.”
The retired olympian shared little information afterward, but around Thanksgiving, wrote a lengthy and heartfelt post about her family.
“As we gather to celebrate this Thanksgiving, my heart is overflowing with profound gratitude. I want to express how truly blessed and thankful I am to be slowly improving and to be home with my girls, especially after my time in the hospital,” Mary Lou said.
“The love and support of my four amazing daughters have been a source of strength and inspiration throughout my journey. Their presence in my life is a testament to the incredible bonds of family.”
Mary Lou’s full interview with Kotb is set to go live during the January 8 airing of Today.
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