Mary Lou Retton suffers ‘pretty scary setback,’ remains in ICU, daughter says

Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton has suffered a “scary” setback in her fight against a rare form of pneumonia, her daughter said Wednesday.

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Retton’s eldest daughter, Shayla Schrepfer, posted a video on Instagram explaining that her mother had suffered a “pretty scary setback” and that she remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

“Basically at the beginning of this week we were going on the up and up,” Schrepfer, 28, said.

“We were so excited, seeing so much progress and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback. She is still in ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes. So I just wanted to give an update there.”

“She had a better day today (Wednesday), which is great,” she said, adding that her mom is “really really exhausted.”

Schrepfer ended her message by thanking fans for their support.

“I’m getting so many messages and emails and just, it’s so great to see people love on her, so… that’s it,” she concluded the video.

Retton was hospitalized earlier in the month with pneumonia and was put into the ICU after her condition worsened. About a week after the news broke that Retton was ill, Schrepfer and her sister, McKenna Kelley, shared a statement on Instagram with “uplifting” news that Retton’s “recovery [was] steadily unfolding.”

Schrepfer said in her new video this week that the family had been “excited” by the progress. She also revealed that the gymnast’s road back to health has not been straightforward.

Retton was the first American woman ever to win an individual all-around gold medal at the Olympics. Retton won the gold in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Retton, 55, was hospitalized in the intensive care unit unable “to breathe on her own,” Kelley shared on Instagram last week.

The family started an account on a fundraising website for her mother because she did not have health insurance, Kelley said.

As of Thursday morning, the page had exceeded its stated $50,000 goal with more than $452,533 donated.