Former Olympic Gymnast And ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Contestant Mary Lou Retton Says She’s “Staying Very Positive” After Recent Hospitalization

By Radhamely De Leon
Published Oct. 31, 2023, 1:53 p.m. ET

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Former Olympic gymnast and Dancing with the Stars contestant Mary Lou Retton has finally spoken out for the first time since her family announced she was recently hospitalized after contracting “a rare form of pneumonia.”

Retton shared an official statement to her Instagram page on Monday (Oct. 30) that said she felt “beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement.”

She wrote, “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.”

The statement continued, “I appreciate everyone’s respect of my privacy at this time.”

Her daughter, McKenna Lane Kelley, regularly shared updates regarding Retton’s journey after she first announced her mother’s hospitalization on Oct. 10. The family set up a donation page to help offset the medical costs for the former gold medalist, saying Retton was uninsured and “fighting for her life” in the hospital.

Kelley later announced that Retton was back home and recovering in a statement shared on Oct. 23 .

“Mom is HOME & in recovery mode. We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps,” she wrote in a post shared to Instagram. “We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone.”

Prior to that, Retton’s family revealed she was still in the ICU after suffering “a pretty scary setback.”

Retton’s daughter, Shayla Schrepfer, said in a statement, “We were so excited, seeing so much progress, and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback. She is still in ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes. So I just wanted to give an update there.”

Now, Retton appears to be back on the mend as she recovers at home with her family. In her recent statement, she expressed that she would share more information as she continues recovering.

“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,” Retton said. “I love you all.”