Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton says she was so sick with a rare form of pneumonia last year that at one point, her daughters were “saying their goodbyes” to her, fearing that she would not survive the night.
The gymnast, 55, appeared Monday in her first TV interview since she was suddenly hospitalized with the life-threatening condition in October. Speaking on NBC’s Today show, Retton credited a neighbor with saving her life and shared her gratitude that she’s still here to tell her story.
Retton, who won gold in the 1984 Summer Olympics, used a portable oxygen tank throughout the interview. Shayla Schrepfer, Retton’s daughter, also sat in on the interview as Retton is unable to remember much about what happened during her monthlong hospitalization, which was first revealed by her children in October.
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“I am so grateful to be here,” Retton told Hoda Kotb. “I am blessed to be here, because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.”
Retton said she and Schrepfer had got their nails done one day in October and that she’d felt tired and was out of breath. The following day, she was supposed to meet her daughters at a football game in Dallas, but she was unable to leave her house.
“I literally was laying on my bedroom floor,” Retton said, “And I said: ‘I cannot—I can’t do this.’ I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I couldn’t breathe.” Retton said she was home alone but luckily her neighbor noticed a car door open on her driveway. “She came in the house. She knows my code, and saw me and found me,” Retton said, adding that the neighbor “pretty much saved my life.”
The neighbor took her to a local ER, where Retton was diagnosed with pneumonia, though she was soon allowed to go home. But the day after her discharge, Schrepfer found Retton almost unresponsive, at which point Retton was rushed to a different hospital.
With medical staff concerned about her low blood oxygen levels, Retton was admitted to the ICU. After a week, Retton says, doctors discussed putting her on a ventilator. Schrepfer said she was told to get her sister to the hospital “because we don’t know if she’s going to make it through the night.”
Schrepfer says she and her sister McKenna Lane Kelley prayed for their mom. “They were saying their goodbyes to me,” Retton said. “I just remember loving on you and giving you a hug,” Schrepfer added. “And McKenna kept saying things like: ‘It’s OK, you can go.’”
Retton’s daughters disclosed the severity of their mother’s illness in a crowdfunding page set up last year to help pay for her medical bills, revealing that Retton didn’t have medical insurance. “I couldn’t afford it,” Retton said. “That’s the bottom line.” She says she has since gotten insured.
“I’m not great yet,” Retton said of her recovery. “I know it’s going to be a really long road.” She added that she was thankful to be able to spend Christmas at home and for the support she’s received since her hospitalization.
“I’m a fighter,” she said, explaining that she felt she’d faced “death in the eyes.” “I’m not going to give up.”
