Mary Lou Retton is home, recovering after hospitalization, daughter says

Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton is home from the hospital, her daughter McKenna Kelley said in an Instagram post Monday afternoon.

“Mom is HOME & in recovery mode,” Kelley wrote. “We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps.”

Nearly two weeks ago, on Oct. 10, Kelley posted that Retton, 55, had “a very rare form of pneumonia” and was “fighting for her life.” Kelley said that Retton was "not able to breathe on her own” and had been “in the ICU for over a week now.”

Kelley’s post continued: “Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she (is) not insured.”

Kelley, a former gymnast at LSU, announced that the family was accepting donations at a spotfund.com account. As of Monday afternoon, $459,304 has been raised. 

When asked for more details about Retton’s health and financial situation, including where Retton was hospitalized, representatives of the family said that Retton’s daughters preferred to keep that information private.

OPINION:Nearly 40 years since she barreled into history, America still loves Mary Lou Retton

With a perfect 10 on the vault at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Retton became the first American to win the women’s individual all-around Olympic gold medal, one of the most coveted titles in all of sports. She won five total medals in L.A., including silvers in the team competition and on the vault, and bronze medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise. 

Her life was forever changed by those Games. She became one of the most recognizable names in U.S. Olympic history, embarking on a career of speeches and appearances, never leaving the public eye.

In what is believed to be Retton’s most recent appearance, she gave a moderated keynote address at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s General Assembly in Los Angeles Sept. 14. She spoke for 20 minutes to an audience of about 500, USOPC spokeswoman Kate Hartman said. Most of her speech centered on her experiences at the 1984 Olympics.

Kelley, 26, is the second-oldest of Retton’s four daughters, all of whom have been involved in gymnastics. Retton married former University of Texas quarterback Shannon Kelley in 1990. They divorced in 2018.