Mary Lou Retton is speaking out for the very first time since her daughter McKenna Lane Kelley revealed she was "fighting for her life" in the ICU with a "very rare form of pneumonia."
In a post shared to her Instagram account on Monday, October 30, the famed gymnast admitted she was "beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement," before expressing: "I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from the world as I fight. I am forever grateful to you all!"
"I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process," Retton continued. "I appreciate everyone’s respect of my privacy at this time."
The Olympic gold medalist, 55, concluded: "When the time is right, I will be sharing more information about my health issues and hope I can help others who may face the same battle as me. I love you all."
Retton's health scare first came to light on Tuesday, October 10, when her daughter asked her followers to "please consider helping our mom and family out! And most importantly please continue to pray!"
Kelley proceeded to share a link to a fundraiser set up on Spotfund, where more details were provided about Retton's life-threatening situation.
The message read: "Hey everyone! On behalf of my sisters and I, we need y’all’s help. My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she not insured. 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. ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!"
While the initial goal of the fundraiser was $50,000, Retton's family has since raised more than $450,000.
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On Monday, October 23, Kelley provided a positive update regarding her mother's health battle, revealing Retton had been released from the hospital after overcoming her intense pneumonia diagnosis.
"Mom is HOME & in recovery mode. We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps. We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn't scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts. Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community of support," the former athlete's daughter expressed.
