Olympian Mary Lou Retton Returns From The Hospital Amid $450K Donations

Retired Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is back home after fighting for her life in the ICU.

One of her daughters took to Instagram on Monday to reveal that her mother, who struggled with a rare form of pneumonia, was now home from the hospital and is in "recovery mode."

In a brief statement posted to Instagram on Monday, October 23, McKenna wrote, “UPDATE: Mom is HOME & in recovery mode. We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps. We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn’t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts.”

“Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community for support,” she concluded. Fans are eager for any updates that they can get about the former gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast, especially after her fans came together to raise over $450,000 for her recovery.

Writer and lawyer Amee Vanderpool posted a clip of Mary Lou Retton performing at the Olympics, supporting America in her red, white, and blue uniform.

“Here is Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 Olympics in LA, scoring a perfect 10 on vault to become the 1st American woman to win the all-around individual gold in gymnastics. Today, she's in an ICU with no health insurance,” she wrote over the video. “Is this how a national treasure should be treated in the USA?”

The tweet caught the attention of Justine Musk, the first wife of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "I remember this. Big gymnastics fan when I was a kid," she wrote in the caption, adding, "I grew up in Canada. Humble hard-working family. Americans snicker re: 'socialist' medicine but: my sister was hospitalized for ten days with meningitis when she was 8. You know what that cost my family? NOTHING."

On Tuesday, October 10, Mary Lou Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley started a Spotfund page in order to finance her mother's health scare. The original plea requested only $50,000; however, over 8,000 fans have opened their hearts and their wallets to contribute over $450,000.

“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she is not insured,” McKenna wrote in the plea.

“We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill,” she continued. “ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!” Many fans donated small amounts ranging from five dollars to twenty dollars.

One woman named Christie Rogers, who donated $35, wrote, “Praying for your recovery. You were my all-time favorite gymnast!! Your skills and personality outshined everyone else. Give it your all once again and put that fighting strength into getting better!”

The Tyson Foods Team even donated $10,000, writing, “Mary Lou has partnered with Tyson Foods in the past on our Gold Medal Mom campaign and cookbook, 'America's Cookin' with Tyson Holly Farms.' Our prayers go out to Mary Lou and her family during this challenging time. The Tyson team is behind you!”