Mary Lou Retton reveals she was almost put on life support in first interview since hospitalization

The Olympic gymnast was hospitalized for a rare form of pneumonia in October.

Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton says she looked "death in the eyes" during her hospitalization for pneumonia last year, revealing that she was almost put on life support.

As a result, Retton, 55, is just happy to be alive. "I'm very private and to come out and talk about it… usually my interviews are, 'Oh yes, it felt great to win the Olympics!'" Retton told Hoda Kotb on Monday's episode of Today, in her first public interview since the health scare. "This is serious, and this is life, and I'm so grateful to be here. I am blessed to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support."

The five-time Olympic medalist said it simply wasn't in her nature to back down in times of hardship. "I have so much to look forward to," Retton said. "I'm a fighter and I'm not going to give up. I have no idea what the future holds for me. I don't know if I’m going to have lasting issues with my lungs. They don't know. I wish I had answers. But I will never give up, it's not in me."

Retton was hospitalized in October for a rare form of pneumonia and spent more than a week in the ICU. Her daughter McKenna shared on social media that she was "fighting for her life" and unable to breathe on her own. She also began a fundraising page to collect donations for her mother's hospital bill. Retton told Kotb that she couldn't afford insurance prior to her hospital stay.

"When COVID hit and after my divorce, and all my pre-existing — I've had over 30 operations of orthopedic stuff — I couldn't afford it," Retton said. "I couldn't afford it. But who would even know that this was going to happen to me? That's the bottom line, I couldn't afford it.” Her eldest daughter, Shayla, also on hand for the interview, said, "We were just thinking if she pulls through, the last thing we want her to have to think about is paying these bills or doing anything like that."

Watch the video above for more from Retton.

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