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Mary Lou Retton is “fighting for her life” in hospital after being struck down with a rare form of pneumonia.
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The former Olympic gymnast’s daughter McKenna Kelley has revealed her 55-year-old mum has spent more than a week in an intensive care unit as doctors battle to save her and she’s launched an online fundraiser to help pay for Mary Lou’s treatment because she doesn’t have medical insurance.
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In a post on the Spotfund.com page, McKenna wrote: “My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. 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 not insured.”
She went on to urge fans to help by praying for the former ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and contributing anything they can to the fundraiser.
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McKenna added: “We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill. ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!”
The crowdfunder has already broken its $50,000 target by bringing in more than $130,000 by Wednesday.
Mary Lou made history at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles by becoming the first American woman to take home a gold medal for the individual all-around competition. She also added two silver medals and two bronze to her tally.
She retired from gymnastics in 1986 and went on to land cameo roles in a number of movies including ‘Scrooged’ and ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult’ as well as TV shows such as ‘Glee’ and ‘Baywatch’.
The former athlete appeared on TV talent show ‘Dancing With The Stars’ in 2018 and came in ninth place.
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