Mary Lou Retton's Daughter Says She Suffered 'Scary Setback' in ICU Health Update
Mary Lou Retton
Olympic medalist Mary Lou Retton is facing what her oldest daughter called a "scary setback" as she battles a rare form of pneumonia.
Late in the evening of Oct. 18, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer uploaded a selfie-style video on the social media platform with the unfortunate update, where she explained that it felt easier to verbalize the news than to try to write it out.
“At the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up, we were so excited, seeing so much progress," she began, likely referring to the "uplifting" health update shared by her sister, McKenna Kelley, earlier this week. "And then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback,” she continued. “She is still in ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.”
She said her mom had had “a better day” that day despite the setback, which she did not elaborate on, but that she is “really, really exhausted.”
McKenna first revealed her mother's plight via an Instagram Story on Oct. 10, sharing that she'd been in the hospital for over a week at the time, though we're not quite sure exactly how long she'd been sick.
While they've kept most of the details of her illness and treatment under wraps, McKenna did share that her mother wasn't able to breathe on her own at the beginning. During her Oct. 14 update, McKenna called the progress she'd made so far "truly remarkable," adding that, at the time, her breathing was getting stronger and her "reliance on machines [was] diminishing." It was unclear if she still required the use of a ventilator at the time, or how her breathing may have been affected by this unsettling setback.
As Shayla signed off her most recent update, she thanked her followers for the support they've shown her and her mom. “I’m getting so many messages and emails and... it’s so great to see people love on her,” she said.
Next: Mary Lou Retton's 'DWTS' Partner Sasha Farber Gives Update Amid Olympian’s Health Crisis
