Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton broke her silence after she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to a rare form of pneumonia.
On Tuesday, Retton, 55, posted a statement on her Instagram page expressing her gratitude.
“I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement. I am overwhelmed with the love and support from the world as I fight,” she wrote.
She informed her followers that she was continuing to recover and is “staying very positive” amid “a long and slow” recovery process.
Additionally, Retton requested respect of privacy from everyone at this time.
“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. I love you all,” she concluded.
This came after Retton’s daughters posted numerous updates on their mother’s condition.
One of her daughters, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, posted a video on her Instagram page and revealed her mother’s health was declining and she had suffered a setback in her recovery.
“At the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up. We were so excited, seeing so much progress, and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback,” Schrepfer said. “She is still in ICU, and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.”
On Oct. 11, Schrepfer posted a video on her Instagram page saying her mother was “still fighting” after news broke of her hospitalization the day before.
“It’s going to be a day-by-day process, and we hope that you guys will respect her boundaries as we want to keep the details between her and our family right now. She’s been treated with the best of the best professionals here, and it has been such a blessing to have their hands on her,” she explained.
She continued, “So please continue the prayers and we cannot thank you enough for the love and support that you guys have shown.”