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Mary Lou Retton, a former Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, was reportedly so ill that she almost passed away last October.
She was in the hospital with pneumonia and, according to her daughters Shayla and McKenna, was on death’s door.
“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” McKenna wrote in the description of a Spotfund.com fundraiser that was started for her mother.
“She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now.
“Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she is not insured.”
Their goal for the fundraiser was $50,000. They ended up raising $459,354.
On Monday, DailyMail.com reported that, according to court documents, Mary Lou Retton received close to $2 million in her 2018 divorce.
That figure does not include her half of the proceeds from the sale of two houses, one in Houston which sold for almost $800,000, and another one in West Virginia which sold for $575,000.
Mary Lou Retton also reportedly received a large settlement in a lawsuit she filed against Biomet Recovery over two faulty hip replacements.
That number is unknown, but DailyMail.com reports that similar lawsuits against the company netted plaintiffs around $2 million each.
Retton was released from the hospital on October 23, about two weeks after she was admitted, and told Today in January, “I am blessed to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support. I couldn’t afford it, I couldn’t afford it, 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.”
In her interview with NBC, Retton claimed that she could not afford insurance as a recently divorced woman with pre-existing health conditions.
But the 2014 Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, bans insurance companies from rejecting customers based on their past health record.
It also forbids firm from using them as an excuse to charge higher premiums.
Obamacare also offers coverage for those who cannot afford top insurance plans.
Mary Lou Retton is also the owner of MLR Entertainment, Inc. That company, registered in Texas where there are no corporate income taxes, is used for her media appearances.
Her listing on the Washington Speakers Bureau’s website says she receives between $25,000 and $40,000 per speaking engagement.
So, again, the question people are asking is, “What happened with the $500K she raised on Spotfund.com?” After all, their goal was only $50,000.
It also begs the question, “If Mary Lou Retton had millions, why did she need a fundraiser for $50,000 in the first place?”
DailyMail.com and other media outlets have repeatedly reached out to Retton for comment, but she has yet to respond.