Mary Lou Retton’s battle against a rare form of pneumonia took a “scary setback,” the gymnastic icon’s family revealed in an Instagram post late Wednesday night.
Retton’s daughter, Shayla Kelly Schrepfer, said in a video posted to Instagram that things seemed like they were headed in a positive direction over the weekend, but things turned 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.”
Schrepfer did not say what exactly happened to cause the setback but did say that Retton had a “better day” on Wednesday and that she was “just really, really exhausted.”
Retton’s family first went public when her daughter McKenna Kelley set up a Spotfund page to help raise money to cover her mother’s medical expenses.
The goal was originally to raise $50,000, and the family has cleared that bar by a lot.
As of Wednesday night, the account raised more than $450,000.
The family previously expressed how overwhelmed and grateful they were for all the support, and Schrepfer reiterated that Wednesday.
“Just wanted to give an update and thank you guys again for the support,” Schrepfer said. “I’m getting so many messages and emails and it’s so great to see people love on her.”
Retton became a household name and rose to icon status in 1984 after becoming the first American woman gymnast to take gold in the individual all-around competition at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Retton took home five medals that year and shot to superstardom, which included sharing 1984’s Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated with fellow Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses.
She has also appeared in a number of films and TV shows.
Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.
Read more
