Mary Lou Retton’s eldest daughter, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, took to Instagram to share that her mother experienced a “scary setback” as she continues to battle a rare form of pneumonia.
“At the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up, we were so excited, seeing so much progress and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback,” Schrepfer said in a video posted on Wednesday. “She is still in [the] ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.” She added that her mother had “a better day today, which is great” but is still “just really, really exhausted.”
“So I just wanted to give an update and thank you guys again for just the support,” Schrepfer continued. “I’m getting so many messages and emails and ... it’s so great to see people love on her.”
The recent update on the former Olympic gymnast’s health condition comes a little over a week after word broke out that Retton was in the hospital with a rare form of pneumonia: “My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life," Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley wrote in a Spotfund fundraising page for her 55-year-old mother. “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.”
As of Thursday, the Spotfund page has raised $454,725 of its $50,000 goal.
