Mary Lou Retton's Near Brush with Life Support: A Personal Account

Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton revealed in an exclusive interview with NBC's "TODAY" show that she battled a life-threatening bout of pneumonia, facing the possibility of being put on life support. Retton, 55, contracted a rare form of pneumonia that left her critically ill and unable to breathe on her own, leading to a hospitalization in the intensive care unit. Her family launched a crowd-funding effort to cover her hospital bill, which has raised over $459,000 to date. Retton is currently recuperating at home in Texas, using portable oxygen and slowly recovering from the illness, which has been described as a long and slow process.