"It was a bad experience, I wasn't being treated"- Mary Lou Retton on her early tryst with pneumonia at emergency room

Legendary gymnast Mary Lou Retton shared about her first encounter with pneumonia that eventually got her into the emergency room. The 55-year-old opened up on her condition and how she was attended to by her neighbor who saved her life. Moreover, Lou Retton talked about the treatment she first received at a local hospital.

In October 2023, Mary Lou Retton made headlines after her daughter informed her fans about the retired gymnast suffering from a rare form of pneumonia. Daughter McKenna Kelley also shared that her mother was fighting for her life in the ICU and that the family needed fundraising to cover Lou Retton’s medical expenses. Fortunately, the 1984 Olympics gold medalist has now shown improvement in her health.

Mary Lou Retton recently appeared in an interview with Today with her daughter to talk about her experience of the past few months. During the conversation, host Hoda Kotb asked the gymnast about the day she was admitted to the hospital.

Lou Retton revealed that she was supposed to meet her daughters at a football match but could not show up. She told,

"I literally was laying on my bedroom floor and I said "I can't do this. I don't know what was wrong with me, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't take that big deep breath in, I still can't." (3:11)

The retired gymnast explained that she could not breathe and even after recovery, she continues to struggle to take deep breaths. Mary Lou Retton was alone at her home when she began feeling uneasy. However, her neighbor noticed the door of her car open in her driveway. So she decided to alert Lou Retton.

The gymnast explained,

"She came in my house, she knows my code. She saw me and found me and pretty much saved my life."

Her neighbors took her to a local emergency room after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

When asked about her experience at the local ER, she said,

"It was a bad experience. I wasn't being treated. It wasn't taken as seriously as I think it was"

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Mary Lou Retton did not have health insurance

Mary Lou Retton

After Mary Lou Retton was diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia, her daughters decided to raise funds for her treatment. This made fans curious about why the legendary gymnast did not have her medical insurance plan.

However, during a recent interview with USA Today, Kelley revealed that due to Lou Retton’s pre-existing medical conditions, she could not afford to get a health care plan. She shared that her gymnast mother had already been through over 30 orthopedic surgeries, including four hip replacements.

Kelley added,

“Due to her medical history and the amount of surgeries she has endured from gymnastics and just life, it’s unaffordable for her.”

She also revealed that Lou Retton was once covered by a health insurance plan. However, the gymnast could not continue it during the Covid year as she did not have ample work.

In such circumstances, her daughters found it right to raise funds for their mother.