US Olympic committee giving financial support to Mary Lou Retton as she remains in ICU without insurance
Five-time Olympic medalist Mary Lou Retton has received an outpouring of love and financial support after her daughter revealed this week that she’s “fighting for her life” with a rare form of pneumonia and “is not able to breathe on her own.”
Retton, 55, reportedly doesn’t have health insurance, which prompted the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to offer aid to the former tumbler.
“Upon learning of Mary Lou’s condition, we immediately took action to expedite the application process for her family to receive assistance,” USOPC spokesperson Kate Hartman told USA Today. “We are currently working through the necessary details in real-time and have reached out to Mary Lou’s family to offer our assistance.”
“The USOPC supports the United States Olympians & Paralympians Relief Fund to offer aid to U.S. Olympians and Paralympians facing significant hardships due to illness, death or extenuating circumstances,” she explained.
Retton earned five medals and superstar status in 1984 with a standout performance at the Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The West Virginia native skyrocketed to fame, securing multiple endorsement deals including one from Wheaties, which made her the first female athlete to appear on the cover of the cereal’s iconic orange box. She can currently be seen in commercials for Colonial Penn Life Insurance.
Retton’s daughter, gymnast McKenna Kelley, launched a crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday with the public disclosure of her mother’s condition, revealing she has been in the ICU “for over a week now” and does not have health coverage to help pay hospital fees.
Donations began pouring in and quickly surpassed the $50,000 goal on the Spotfund site. As of Friday evening, the campaign had raised over $409,000.
Retton shares four daughters — McKenna, Shayla, Emma and Skyla — with ex-husband Shannon Kelley.
“My sisters and I are overwhelmed,” Retton’s eldest daughter, competitive bodybuilder Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, said in a video message about the financial outreach. “We didn’t even realize that there’s so many people out there that love her just as much as we do and it’s been a really hard time for our family.”
“So just seeing that people love her like that, showing her that support, has just meant the world to us and to her, so thank you,” she said in the emotional Instagram post.
