Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Breaks Silence on Health Battle

Mary Lou Retton is on the mend.

A week after the Olympian's family shared she was out of the hospital following a stay in the ICU due to a rare form of pneumonia, the 55-year-old is speaking out for the first time.

"I'm beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement," Mary Lou wrote on Instagram Oct. 30. "I am overwhelmed with the love and support from the world as I fight. I am forever grateful to you all!"

Giving insight into her next steps, she continued, "I'm with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process."

Thanking everyone for their privacy, Mary Lou promised she would expand more on her experience in the future.  

"When the time is right, I will be sharing more information about my health issues," she added, "and hope I can help others who may face the same battle as me. I love you all."

On Oct. 23, Mary Lou's daughter McKenna Kelley updated followers on her mother's condition.

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"Mom is HOME & in recovery mode," she wrote on Instagram. "We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps."

McKenna then gave a shout-out to everyone who checked in on Mary Lou—who made history in 1984 after becoming the first American woman to win an individual all-around gold medal in the sport at the Olympics.

"We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone," the 26-year-old expressed. "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."

McKenna first shared the news of Mary Lou's health issues on Oct. 10 and continued to keep fans in the loop on both the athlete's progress and setbacks over the past month.

"My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life," she wrote in a post to Spotfund, after launching an online fundraiser to cover medical bills. "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 [is] not insured."

And as Mary Lou—who is also mom to daughters Shayla, 28, Skyla, 23, and Emma, 21, with ex-husband Shannon Kelley—continued to fight for her life, her eldest child reflected on how the gymnast's fans rallied around her.

"Thank you guys again for just the support," Shayla said in an Oct. 18 Instagram video. "I'm getting so many messages and emails, and just it's so great to see people love on her."