Mary Lou Retton is back home and recovering after she was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.
The former Olympic gymnast’s second-oldest daughter, McKenna Kelley, shared the update on her Instagram on Oct. 23, writing that her mom is in “recovery mode.”
“We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps,” Kelley wrote. “We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn’t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts.”
Kelley concluded her message by thanking Jesus, the doctors and nurses and their “loving community” for all the support amid their mother’s health issues.
News of Retton being back home comes days after her oldest daughter, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, shared in a video that Retton had a “scary setback.”
“At the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up,” Schrepfer said on Oct. 19. “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.”
However, Schrepfer noted that her mom had “a better day today, but was “just really, really exhausted.”
Retton, who won five medals at the Olympics, was diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia and had been hospitalized for over a week after her condition left her unable to breathe on her own, her family announced on Oct. 10.
Retton represented the U.S. at the 1984 Summer Olympics at the age of 16. She became the first woman in U.S. history to win the Olympic all-around gold medal and retired from the sport in 1986. When her daughters shared her health issues, they also revealed the former athlete does not have medical insurance and created Spotfund crowd-funding page to help raise funds for her care.
Additionally, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it was working to provide assistance to Retton’s family through its relief fund.
“Please know that our hearts are with Mary Lou,” the committee said in a statement to NBC News.
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