Ali Gator Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 According to her daughter, 55 year old Gold Medal Olympian winner Mary Lou Retton has been in the ICU for the past week 'fighting for her life' as she battles a 'rare form of pneumonia'. McKenna Lane Kelley has posted an on-line fundraiser for her mother's medical care, and says she has not been able to breathe on her own since being admitted more than a week ago. Kelley has acknowledged her mother - who has had multiple endorsement deals over the past four decades since becoming the first American woman to win all-around gymnastics gold at the Olympics - has no health insurance, but would not give any more details. Kelley, a gymnast herself and the second of Retton's four daughters, says all money raised will pay for her medical care. On Tuesday, Kelley shared the story to her Instagram, with a link to the fundraiser on a Spotfund page. In the past 24 hours, she has raised over $180,000 for her mother's bills, surpassing her goal of $50,000, with nearly 4,000 donors. In 1984, Retton made Olympic history at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles by becoming the first American to win an individual all-around gold medal, despite having knee surgery just weeks before the events. Retton scored perfect 10s across the board, beating out Romania's Ecaterina Szabo by 0.05 points. She also took home the Silver and the Bronze in separate categories that summer. Following her 1984 wins, she began lucrative endorsement deals (starting with the breakfast cereal 'Wheaties') and spokesperson deals which continued for the next few decades. She married football player Shannon Kelley in 1990, and had four daughters with him. The couple divorced in 2018, after 28 years of marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ sync Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 I recently saw a TV commercial featuring Mary Lou Retton as the spokesperson, and as I looked at her, I sensed that she was not looking well, but I didn't think it could be this serious. Hopefully, she responds well to treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 Mary Lou Retton Medical Fundraiser Blows Past Goal WWW.THEDAILYBEAST.COM The gymnastics hero is in intensive care with a rare form of pneumonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 Supposedly (I don't know how true this is - I read it online), one of her daughters did talk to her local media, and revealed that her mother is battling Covid, as she has never gotten any vaccinations for the illness. She thought the public already knew, and was taken aback when the interviewer questioned her further (she didn't know her sister said 'pneumonia' to the press). Again, not sure how true this is - but this was making the message forums earlier today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted October 15, 2023 Author Share Posted October 15, 2023 Her daughter is now saying she is making "remarkable progress" in her recovery, though remains in the ICU. According to an Instagram update, she is responding well to the treatment for pneumonia (though still not clarifying what kind of pneumonia, or if it is indeed Covid - as leaked out the other day). “Her breathing is becoming stronger, and her reliance on machines is diminishing,” McKenna Kelly wrote. “Though it’s a lengthy journey, witnessing these improvements is incredibly heartening! She’s beginning to respond to treatments.” This past Tuesday, her daughter opened up a 'Spotfundme' page, saying her mother has no health insurance and was looking for donors to reach a $50,000 goal. Latest figures show nearly 8,000 people have donated, and the total donations is close to 10 times the goal - nearly $500,000 has been taken in so far. + sync 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Once the statement came out that she was doing better last weekend, donation to the fundraising page started slowing down drastically in the following days. Interestingly, a new tweet went out in the middle of this past week, letting the public know she was back to 'struggling with her breathing' and 'battling to save her life' as her health turned for the worse. And the donations shot up again. As of today, she's $40K away from half a million dollars. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ FrankR Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 26 minutes ago, Ali Gator said: Once the statement came out that she was doing better last weekend, donation to the fundraising page started slowing down drastically in the following days. Interestingly, a new tweet went out in the middle of this past week, letting the public know she was back to 'struggling with her breathing' and 'battling to save her life' as her health turned for the worse. And the donations shot up again. As of today, she's $40K away from half a million dollars. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I am not sure how I feel about this. Her luxury home was featured in a magazine in 2022 and she is estimated to be worth more than $2mil. Surely they dont need other people’s charity?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 32 minutes ago, FrankR said: I am not sure how I feel about this. Her luxury home was featured in a magazine in 2022 and she is estimated to be worth more than $2mil. Surely they dont need other people’s charity?? There are many people questioning this. Many people. Yet, the family is providing no answers - the most basic question being "Why doesn't she have health insurance with all her money ?" + FrankR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 Looks like MLR has come home to recuperate, with $459,304 now in her bank account. That's $409,304 more than the Spotfundme goal was set at two weeks ago. Mary Lou Retton Is Home from the Hospital and 'in Recovery Mode,' Daughter McKenna Says PEOPLE.COM Mary Lou Retton is home from the hospital and 'in recovery mode,' her daughter McKenna Kelley shared Monday following the former gymnast's multi-week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ FrankR Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 On 10/23/2023 at 11:32 PM, Ali Gator said: Looks like MLR has come home to recuperate, with $459,304 now in her bank account. That's $409,304 more than the Spotfundme goal was set at two weeks ago. Mary Lou Retton Is Home from the Hospital and 'in Recovery Mode,' Daughter McKenna Says PEOPLE.COM Mary Lou Retton is home from the hospital and 'in recovery mode,' her daughter McKenna Kelley shared Monday following the former gymnast's multi-week... The whole thing is (still) just weird. Call me nuts, but from the numbers mentioned in the article it is hard to understand how she got herself into this position. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2024/01/06/mary-lou-retton-nearly-half-million-dollars-donations-how-spent/72132567007/ BSR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Gator Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 Retton sat down for an interview with Hoda Kotb on 'Today' this past week. She didn't answer any questions on what she was diagnosed with, why she didn't have health insurance, etc. - she gave very vague, hazy answers. She claims she didn't remember much of what happened that day. She made no mention of how much money she grifted from fans on her GFM page. And Hoda - horrible journalist that she is - didn't push for any definitive answers. She just laughed and smiled like a donkey. There's something very strange about this whole situation and I think the truth will leak out eventually (and it won't be pretty). + FrankR and BSR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhexum Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, Ali Gator said: Hoda Kotb Hoda Codpiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhexum Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On 10/22/2023 at 10:21 AM, Ali Gator said: Once the statement came out that she was doing better last weekend, donation to the fundraising page started slowing down drastically in the following days. Interestingly, a new tweet went out in the middle of this past week, letting the public know she was back to 'struggling with her breathing' and 'battling to save her life' as her health turned for the worse. And the donations shot up again. As of today, she's $40K away from half a million dollars. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. On 10/22/2023 at 10:50 AM, FrankR said: I am not sure how I feel about this. Her luxury home was featured in a magazine in 2022 and she is estimated to be worth more than $2mil. Surely they dont need other people’s charity?? On 1/8/2024 at 1:14 AM, FrankR said: The whole thing is (still) just weird. Call me nuts, but from the numbers mentioned in the article it is hard to understand how she got herself into this position. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2024/01/06/mary-lou-retton-nearly-half-million-dollars-donations-how-spent/72132567007/ If she needs money, she can just sign an endorsement deal to put her face on a box of GRIFTees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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