The Olympic legend spent nearly two weeks in the ICU in October.
Mary Lou Retton wished her fans and followers a “Merry Christmas” this week as she shared a photo of her four daughters, all gathered for the holiday.
The festive photo shows the Retton children — McKenna Lynn Kelly, Emma Jane Kelly, Sheila Kelly Schrepfer, and Skyla Kelly — smiling and wearing matching Christmas headbands.
The Retton family’s post comes about two months after she was sent to the hospital due to a life-threatening health scare.
In October, the Olympic gold medalist and retired gymnast spent nearly two weeks in the ICU, and although she had not yet revealed her diagnosis at the time, one of Retton’s daughters previously revealed that among the conditions Retton developed were ” “Severe illness.” A “rare” form of pneumonia.
Pneumonia can affect anyone at any age, and is an infection that affects the lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pneumonia can be caused by various factors, including a virus, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or COVID-19, or bacteria, such as pneumococcus or Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
Retton, 55, spoke out for the first time after her hospital stay in an October 30 Instagram post.
“I am so lucky to have the opportunity to make this statement,” she wrote at the time, thanking her fans and followers.
She continued: “I am with my family continuing to recover slowly and I remain very positive because I know that this recovery is a long and slow process.” “I appreciate everyone’s respect for my privacy at this time. When the time is right, I will share more information about my health issues and hopefully I can help others who may be facing the same battle as me. Love you all.”
In a follow-up post over Thanksgiving, Retton said her health was “slowly improving.”
“I want to express how happy and thankful I feel to be slowly getting better and to be home with my girls, especially after my time in the hospital,” she wrote in part.
“On this day of thanks, I am reminded of the value of life, the love that surrounds me, and the resilience of the human spirit. Each of you has played an important role in my journey, and for that, I am forever grateful,” she added.
Retton captured the hearts of Americans during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles when she won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition. She also won silver medals in the vault and team events and bronze medals in the floor exercise and uneven bars.
Her five gymnastics medals in one Olympics is tied with Simone Biles, Nastia Liukin and Shannon Miller for most Americans.