Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton’s daughter Shayla Kelley Schrepfer is sharing an update on her mom’s ongoing battle with pneumonia.
“She’s still fighting,” Schrepfer, 28, said in a video uploaded to Instagram on Wednesday, October 11. “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.”
Schrepfer added that Retton, 55, is receiving care from “the best of the best” medical professionals and thanked her mom’s fans for their outpouring of support.
“My sisters and I are overwhelmed. We didn’t even realize that there are so many people out there that love her just as much as we do,” Shrepfer said. “It’s been a really hard time for our family and so just seeing that people love her like that and showing her that support has meant the world to us and to her.”
Schrepfer’s comments came one day after her sister McKenna Lane Kelley took to social media on Tuesday, October 10, to confirm that Retton had been hospitalized due to complications from pneumonia. Kelley, 26, also posted a link to a SpotFund fundraiser, which has already surpassed its $50,000 goal.
“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” Kelley wrote on the page. “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.”
In addition to Schrepfer and McKenna, Retton also shares daughters Skyla, 23, and Emma, 21, with ex-husband Shannon Kelley, whom she divorced in 2018.
As a gymnast, Retton won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, making her the first American woman to win gold at that event. She also won two silver medals and two bronze medals.
Retton went on to retire in 1986 and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. She later competed on season 27 of Dancing With the Stars with partner Sasha Farber in 2005. The duo were sent home during the reality competition’s sixth week.
Farber, 39, has been in touch with Retton amid her current health struggles.
“I’ve been talking to her today and she’s fighting,” the DWTS pro told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday. “She kind of wants to give up, but I’m sending her videos of her dancing and I’m telling her, ‘There’s only one Mary Lou Retton. You’ve got this!’”
He continued: “You’ve got to see the people [you care about], you’ve gotta say hi, you gotta call them. And I’ve been speaking to her today. She’s a fighter. She’s going to be great.”
