Mary Lou Retton speaks out for 1st time after life-threatening health scare
Mary Lou Retton is speaking out for the first time about a life-threatening health scare that required a nearly two-week stay in the intensive care unit.
Retton, 55, took to Instagram to thank her fans and followers for their support as she battled what her daughters previously described as a "very rare" form of pneumonia.
"I am overwhelmed with all the love and support form the world as I fight," Retton wrote in an Instagram post Monday. "I am forever grateful to you all!"
Retton, a mom of four daughters, was discharged from the hospital last week, two of her daughters shared on social media at the time.
When she was first hospitalized, Retton was initially not able to breathe on her own, according to her daughters.
Retton acknowledged in her post that she had made a tremendous recovery over the past several weeks, writing, "I'm beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement."
She said she plans to share more details of her health battle in the future to "help others," but for now is focusing on her recovery.
"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. "I appreciate everyone's resect of my privacy at this time."
Neither Retton nor her daughters have shared exact details of her diagnosis.
Pneumonia is an infection that causes the air sacs of the lungs to fill with fluid, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Retton became a sports icon when she won Olympic individual all-around gold at the 1984 Games. She also earned silver as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team in the all-around and as an individual on vault. She earned bronze medals in the uneven bars and floor exercise to claim five medals total in Los Angeles.
She has remained an iconic American sports hero in the decades since and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.
In 2018, Retton competed on season 27 of ABC's dancing competition show "Dancing With the Stars."
