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Mary Lou Retton appeared on NBC News’ “Today” show in 2012.
CNN
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Olympic gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton said she was lucky to be alive after being hospitalized last year with a rare form of pneumonia that left her unable to breathe on her own.
Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that can cause the lungs to fill with fluid, with symptoms that can range from mild to life-threatening. Adults over 65, children under five, and people with other medical conditions are most at risk. The Ritton family has not specified the type of diagnosis of the rare pneumonia.
Retton, who now wears a nasal cannula, a device that provides supplemental oxygen, admitted she was in a very weak condition.
“I’m very private…Usually the interviews I do are, ‘Oh yeah, it felt great to win the Olympics,'” Retton said on NBC Sunday, in a preview released ahead of the full interview that airs Monday.
“This is serious, and this is life. I’m so grateful to be here. I’m lucky to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.”
Retton captured the hearts of Americans in 1984 when she was the first American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gymnastics competition.
Dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” after winning five medals during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Retton parlayed that into appearing in films, television shows, advertisements and on the front of wheat boxes.
In 1997, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
In October last year, Retton said she was “overwhelmed by the love and support from the world” as she began her recovery.
“I am forever grateful to you all,” she said in an Instagram post.
“I am with my family as they continue to slowly recover and I remain very positive because I know that this recovery is a long and slow process.”