Mary Lou Retton spent Christmas at home.
That meant a lot to the 55-year-old American gymnastics legend, who is still recovering from a rare form of pneumonia that kept her hospitalized in intensive care for several weeks in the fall.
“I’m not very well yet. I know it’s going to be a really long road,” Retton told NBC News’ Hoda Kotb in an interview that aired Monday on the “Today” show.
“I don’t know how long I’ll need oxygen indefinitely,” she added, pointing to her nasal cannula, “but you have no idea how blessed and grateful I felt for this holiday season.”
Sitting on a couch next to her eldest daughter, Shayla Schrepfer, at Retton’s home in Boerne, Texas, the five-time Olympic medalist was giving her first interview since McKenna Kelley, the second oldest of Retton’s four daughters, came out. on October 10 on Instagram. She said her mother was “fighting for her life” in intensive care after contracting “a very rare form of pneumonia.”
“I am very private. And coming out and talking about it, usually my interviews are, ‘Oh yeah, it was great to win the Olympics,’ you know? Reton said. “This is different. This is serious and that’s life. And I’m very grateful to be here. I’m lucky to be here, because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.”
One day this fall, a neighbor noticed a car door left open in Retton’s driveway and entered the former gymnast’s home to let her know.
That’s when the neighbor found Retton on the ground struggling to breathe.
“She practically saved my life,” Retton said of her neighbor. “I mean, I was… what did she say? – White blue. “I don’t even remember.”
Retton said she was taken to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home after a couple of days. But the next day, Schrepfer found her mother almost unconscious. Retton was transferred to another hospital, where she was immediately admitted to the ICU with her oxygen levels dropping.
Schrepfer said doctors told her they weren’t sure if her mother would survive the night.
“And then McKenna and I put our hands on him and said a prayer,” Schrepfer said.
“They were saying goodbye to me,” Retton added.
But Retton pulled through, and after a few weeks of ups and downs, she was discharged on October 23 to continue her recovery at home.
Still, there was another problem that Retton’s daughters revealed on social media during the ordeal: their mother, known as America’s sweetheart in 1984 after becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the all-around competition. , I didn’t have insurance.
“When COVID hit after my divorce and all my pre-existing issues — I mean, I had over 30 surgeries and orthopedic things — I couldn’t afford it,” Retton told Kotb about health insurance.
Retton’s daughters organized an online fundraiser that has raised more than $450,000 to help cover her medical expenses.
“I thought I was a washed-up old athlete, but the love just touched me,” said Retton, who told Kotb she now has health insurance.
Retton acknowledged that he still has a long recovery process ahead of him, but feels that there have been “many more positives than negatives” to his health problem.
“I mean, when you stare death in the eyes, I have a lot to look forward to,” he said. “I am a fighter and I am not going to give up. Am No I’m going to give up. I have no idea what the future holds. I don’t know if I will have lasting problems with my lungs. They don’t know it. I mean, I wish I had answers. But I would never give up. It is not in me.”
