Mary Lou Retton says she is ‘continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive’ amid health battle

The five-time Olympic medalist Mary Lou Retton , who was “fighting for her life” with a rare form of pneumonia in early October, is on the road to recovery..

Thanking her fans for their love and support, she shared a health update to her Instagram on Monday, saying she was “beyond blessed” and “overwhelmed with all the love and support as I fight.”

After a multiweek stay in intensive care for her ailment, Retton was released last week and is at home with her family.

“I am with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process,” she said.

Retton 55, said she is grateful to the public for respecting her privacy and promised that “when the time is right,” she will share more so that she can “help others who my face the same battle as me.”

The West Virginia native earned five medals and superstar status in 1984 with a standout performance at the Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles.

She skyrocketed to fame, securing multiple endorsement deals including one from Wheaties, which made her the first female athlete to appear on the cover of the cereal’s iconic orange box.

Retton was most recently seen in commercials for Colonial Penn Life Insurance.

One of the former athlete’s four daughters, gymnast McKenna Kelley, launched a crowdfunding campaign with the public disclosure that her mom does not have health insurance to help cover her hospital fees.

Donations began pouring in and quickly surpassed the $50,000 goal, raising over $459,000 to date.