CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Former Olympic gymnast and West Virginia native Mary Lou Retton is back home after a several-week stay in intensive care with a rare form of pneumonia.
On Monday, one of her daughters, McKenna Kelley, announced on Instagram that Retton is in “recovery mode.”
Retton, 55, had been in the ICU at a Texas hospital since early October. Her family said she couldn’t breathe on her own when she was initially hospitalized.
“We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps,” Kelley said in the post.
Retton has had several ups and downs with her recovery during her stay in the ICU, according to updates from her daughters, but this is the first major change that her family has announced.
A crowdfund to help “America’s sweetheart” with her medical bills has raised more than $450,000 as of Oct. 23, with more than 8,000 donors.
“We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn’t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts,” Kelly wrote in Monday’s social media post. “Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community of support.”
Retton became the first American to win gold in the women’s all-around gymnastics event at the Olympics in 1984. She is considered one of the most famous people from the Mountain State, but she currently lives in Texas.