Olympian Mary Lou Retton Says She Was Almost Put on Life Support in ICU Amid Pneumonia Battle

Mary Lou Retton, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, has yet to reach the finish line in her recovery from a rare form of pneumonia that left her hospitalized last October. In a recent interview with Today, the 55-year-old detailed the severity of her illness, revealing that doctors considered putting her on life support and remain uncertain about her future.

“This is serious, and this is life, and I’m so grateful to be here. I am blessed to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support,” Retton shared. Throughout her hospitalization, the gymnast’s daughters provided updates on her health and crowdfunded money for medical expenses. They raised more than $460,000 from over 8,300 donors. Meanwhile, doctors were advising that they “prepare for the worst” as Retton’s condition became increasingly unstable.

“She told me, ‘You need to get your sister here, because we don’t know if she’s going to make it through the night,’” Retton’s daughter Shayla Schrepfer shared. A momentary saving grace arrived in the form of doctors pumping oxygen directly through Retton’s nose, raising her pulse oximeter level high enough to avoid needing ventilation.

“I’m not great yet; I know it’s going to be a really long road — I don’t know how long, I may indefinitely need oxygen — but you have no idea how blessed and how grateful I was for this holiday season,” Retton said. “I mean, when you face death in the eyes? I have so much to look forward to. I’m a fighter and I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to give up. I have no idea what the future holds for me. I don’t know if I’m going to have lasting issues with my lungs. They don’t know. I wish I had answers. But I will never give up, it’s not in me.”

Retton has been retired for more than 30 years, having left on a high note after winning the American Cup all-around competition for the third time in 1985. “I just thought I was a washed-up old athlete, but the love touched me,” she told Today. “Now that I’m alive and I made it through, there’s so many more positives than negatives.”