Former gymnast Mary Lou Retton responded to criticism after her family raised nearly $500,000 to pay her mounting medical bills, but refused to reveal where the money was going.
The Olympic gold medalist, who was rushed to hospital with a rare form of pneumonia last October, said her four daughters “saved her life” by opening a SpotFund account while she was in the ICU.
“I was sobbing,” she he told Entertainment Tonight from the moment he discovered how much money his family had raised.
“(But) they didn’t deserve that,” Retton continued, when asked about the backlash her daughters received after refusing to explain how much their mother’s entire medical bill was.
‘They were just trying to take care of me. I don’t care about the detractors. There are trolls everywhere. It’s what makes us America. Everyone has an opinion, but it is what it is.
Mary Lou Retton responded to criticism after her family raised nearly $500,000 to pay her medical bills.
‘I don’t care about the detractors. There are trolls everywhere,’ said the former gymnast
Retton claimed his job opportunities dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic and his finances took a hit following his 2018 divorce from former NFL star Shannon Kelley.
“There weren’t any jobs, so it’s not like before,” he said.
“Let’s say the height of my fame was years ago and I (was) making enough to make it, making enough to pay my bills.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Retton emphasized that all money donated would be allocated to his medical bills, while the remaining funds would be given to the American Lung Association.
Retton had to fight for her life when she was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.
The athlete’s four daughters opened a SpotFund account while she was in the ICU
Retton’s family has not explained how much his medical bills were.
“You can’t imagine, from ambulance bills to everything,” he said of the rising costs. ‘I couldn’t have done it without my daughters. I just couldn’t have done it. I mean, I don’t know where she would be.
The 56-year-old also addressed her critics directly, saying: “You can have your opinion, but you weren’t in that situation.” “My daughters stepped up and saved my life, and all the love and support saved my life.”
Retton, the first American woman to win the Olympic title in 1984, previously revealed that her condition deteriorated to the point that her four daughters said goodbye for fear she would not make it through the night.
Retton said her condition worsened to the point that her daughters said goodbye
Doctors told the sisters they didn’t know if their mother would survive the night.
Doctors first approached her oldest daughter, Shayla, and two of her sisters, McKenna and Skyla, to tell them they were considering “taking the next step” and putting Retton on “life support.”
Doctors later told the trio to take their younger sister, Emma, who was in college, to the hospital.
Neither Mary Lou nor any of her daughters have confirmed how much of the crowdfunded $459,324 was spent on medical bills, nor how much was (or will be) sent to charity.
During an interview last year, McKenna claimed that her mother was left without health insurance and could not afford care due to pre-existing conditions, including “more than 30 orthopedic surgeries, including four hip replacements.”
