If you’re a fan of gymnastics, then this piece of news might make you feel really sad. Five-time Olympic medalist and Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee Mary Lou Retton is hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia for the past week and is currently on life support.
The information came directly from one of her daughters, McKenna, who has been at the helm of a crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds for paying for her mother’s care.
The one gold, two silver, two bronze gymnastics prodigy who shone in the Los Angeles Olympic Games is facing a battle between life and death. Today, we share with you all the available details concerning Mary Lou Retton’s health status.
What Happened To Mary Lou Retton?
According to McKenna Kelley, one of Retton’s daughters, she is hospitalized fighting a rare form of pneumonia. Retton has been in the intensive care unit for over a period of seven days with respiratory support. McKenna Kelley, who has been handling the former Olympic Gold Medalist social media and public relations won’t disclose the reasons of her mother’s hospitalization and that is perfectly understandable.
Retton has no medical insurance, and the bills are being covered by people who have expressed their solidarity via a crowdfunding campaign that Retton’s daughters and family are currently handling. We can only express our solidarity with her family and hope she recovers soon.
According to her daughters in their press comuniquées, she’s making a very good, sustained and remarkable progress. Retton, 55, a Fairmont, West Virginia native, has received more than 5,000 donations through the crowdfunding campaign that are almost half a million dollars. Which shows just how much she is appreciated and how solidarity is an open society that cherishes its athletes like the American one.
What causes Pneumonia Like The One Mary Lou Retton Has?
There are many causes of pneumonia, from infectious (virus, bacterial, fungi, parasites), to autoimmune (when the body produces chemical substances that make the body’s immune system attack itself), to malignant cancer-like diseases. However, we don’t know by the time of print what is the cause for the Olympic Medalist of pneumonia. In any case, it seems like a rare, grave one that requires breathing support and constant medical monitoring.
The of clinical process that Mary Lou Retton is going through doesn’t end just by taking her out of the ICU. It involves a comprehensive approach to her recovery, including a series of diagnostic tests to assess her condition thoroughly. In addition, she will undergo respiratory and physical therapy to regain her strength and mobility, enabling her to return to her normal self. We send our heartfelt wishes for her speedy recovery and hope to see her back on her feet soon!
Who Is Mary Lou Retton?
If you ever heard of American Gymnastics, you might’ve been familiar with this woman, for Mary Lou Retton was the first American woman to win an Olympic all-around gold medal in gymnastics at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Some critics might say that she won in 1984 because the Soviets boycotted the Games, still she had to face tough competition.
A gymnastics prodigy who took her first steps when she was just six years old, Retton is also a five-time Olympic medalist, winning individual and team medals. She remains one of the most popular athletes of the 1980s due to her outgoing personality and bubbly enthusiasm.
The Olympian whose debut in the 1984 —at only sixteen years old— games earned her five medals: One Gold for individual all-around, two silver medals, one for vault, and for team all-around, and a bronze medal, for her floor routine and uneven bars.
After retiring from competitive gymnastics, she went on to be a sports commentator, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. Thanks to her achievements, she became a brand ambassador and was the face of several major brands including Wheaties, Honda, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and General Mills.
In her post-gymnastics career, she has been involved with a number of charities benefiting Children’s Hospitals around the United States. Mary Lou Retton is a Team USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee. She has four daughters: McKenna, Shayla, Emma, and Skyla.
