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<\/source><\/picture>Decorated Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is home from the hospital weeks after a battle with pneumonia led to her being admitted into the Intensive Care Unit, and her daughter is giving thanks to Jesus for her mother\u2019s recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A fundraiser<\/a> set up on the crowdfunding platform Spotfund by McKenna Kelley detailed how Retton, her mother, \u201chas a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life.\u201d Kelley explained that Retton was \u201cnot able to breathe on her own\u201d and had \u201cbeen in the ICU for over a week now.\u201d Noting that her mother was \u201cnot insured,\u201d Kelley requested that people \u201cPRAY\u201d and \u201chelp us with finances for the hospital bill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom,\u201d she added. While the fundraiser had a goal of $50,000, it has exceeded expectations by raising $459,354 as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n Kelley has repeatedly posted updates on her mother\u2019s status on her Instagram account. She first shared an update about her mother\u2019s condition on Oct. 11 <\/a>and informed her followers of positive developments in her mother\u2019s recovery process on Oct. 14<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kelley\u2019s most recent update<\/a>, posted Tuesday, announced that \u201cMom is HOME & in recovery mode.\u201d She acknowledged that \u201cwe still have a long road ahead of us\u201d and expressed confidence that her mother was making \u201cbaby steps\u201d toward a complete recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone,\u201d Kelley wrote. \u201cGrateful doesn\u2019t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts. Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community of support.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kelley identifies herself as a \u201cdaughter of the king\u201d on her Instagram account and highlighted her faith in God in the two previous updates. In the Oct. 11 post, Kelley requested \u201ccontinued prayers and positive thoughts\u201d for Retton. The Oct. 14 update declared that \u201cprayers have been felt and are being answered,\u201d accompanied by an emoji of praying hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Olympedia<\/a>, a database of athletes who have competed in the Olympic games over the years, Retton competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, as a 16-year-old. She secured five medals for Team USA. Retton won a gold medal in the Individual All-Around competition for women\u2019s gymnastics.<\/p>\n Additionally, Retton earned a silver medal in the Team All-Around competition as well as the Horse Vault contest for women\u2019s gymnastics. She picked up bronze medals in both the Floor Exercise and Uneven Bars competitions while coming in fourth on the balance beam.<\/p>\n Retton\u2019s performance at the 1984 Olympics earned her the titles of Sports Illustrated\u2019s “Sportsman of the Year” and the “Associated Press\u2019 Amateur Athlete of the Year” that year. In 1993, nearly a decade after her Olympic performances won her the nickname \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweetheart,\u201d Retton received the title of “Most Popular Athlete in America” based on a national survey. Retton\u2019s Instagram page<\/a> describes her as a \u201cmotivational speaker\u201d and a \u201cmother to 4 daughters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to competing at the 1984 Olympics, Retton also won the American Cup, the American Classic and the Chunichi Cup in 1983, and won the American Cup again in 1985 before retiring from the sport. She is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kelley followed in her mother\u2019s footsteps by pursuing competitive gymnastics. She competed at Louisiana State University, <\/a>earning a spot on the Southeastern Conference\u2019s Academic Honor Roll throughout all four years of college in addition to winning the titles of SEC Floor Exercise Champion in 2017 and the National Collegiate Athletic Association\u2019s Baton Rouge Floor Exercise Champion in 2019. Her biography, as compiled by LSU, says she attended Second Baptist School in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n