American gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton suffers ‘scary setback’ in fight against pneumonia. What do we know?
With her health hanging in the balance, the Olympic gold medalist now faces an uncertain path to recovery after reports of obstacles in her progress.
Though her daughter initially indicated that she was improving, it now seems that the American Olympic icon is no closer to being given a clean bill of health, but rather in a more precarious position than before as she continues her battle with a rare form of pneumonia.
Mary Lou Retton is not doing OK
According to comments from her daughter, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton has suffered a “scary setback” in her battle with a rare form of pneumonia. In a video that she posted on Instagram, Shrepfer initially stated that things were looking up for her mother, however, it now seems that the situation took a turn for the worse on Tuesday. “We were so excited, seeing so much progress, and then yesterday, we had a pretty scary setback,” Schrepfer said. “She is still in ICU, and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.”
To be clear, Schrepfer did not give any specifics about her mother’s condition, but did reveal that Retton had a “better day” on Wednesday and was “really, really exhausted.” This latest update comes following our previous report in which Retton’s other daughter, McKenna Kelley, stated that her mother was “fighting for her life.” Further to that, she also went on to post a link to a fundraiser that was started in an effort to help pay for Retton’s medical expenses. “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,” Kelley wrote at the time. “ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!” It is understood that the campaign has received a significant amount of donations since.
What we know about Mary Lou Retton’s condition
As much as we’ve received no new details about Retton’s condition, what we do know is that Kelley made it clear that as a result of the rare form of pneumonia that she is currently suffering from, her mother is unable to breathe on her own. Further to that, Kelley also explained that her mother does not currently have medical insurance. With that in mind, it should be said that the fundraising campaign has already raised more than $454,000, which is more than nine times the original goal of $50,000. Indeed, such has been the support for Retton that the aforementioned amount has come from more than 8,200 individual donors, one of whom donated $50,000.
“My sisters Skyla, Shayla, Emma and I would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support for our Mom,” McKenna wrote before adding, “Mom is in ICU and continues to fight. She is getting incredible medical care! Thank you to all the doctors and nurses! We ask for continued prayers and positive thoughts for our mom.”
Who is Mary Lou Retton?
It was during the 1984 Summer Olympics in 1984 that Retton, who is now 55 years old, became an American icon. Not only did she win all-around gold becoming the first American woman to do so, but she also won silver in the team and vault events, as well as bronze in floor exercise and uneven bars. It’s also worth noting that Retton’s all-around gold was the first by any American competitor since Julius Lenhart did so in 1904. Adding further context to that notion is the fact that Lenhart was an Austrian citizen who was competing through an American gymnastics club for Team U.S.A. during the early years of the modern Olympics.
Yet, perhaps what makes Retton’s achievements that summer even more special, is that she had underdone knee surgery just five weeks prior. Of course, as she entered her final rotation in need of a perfect 10 on the vault, she did what she would do many more times: She stuck her landing and won gold. That famous win came at the height of Soviet dominance in gymnastics. With the former U.S.S.R. boycotting that summer’s Olympics, however, the Americans managed to secure a historic win. It would be 20 years before another managed to do the same, with Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson doing so in 2004. After retiring from gymnastics in 1986, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. Interestingly, Retton would go on to receive a number of roles in various television shows and movies and even served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports during George W. Bush’s administration.