Mary Lou Retton's Family Shares "Remarkable" Update Amid Gymnast's Battle With Rare Illness

Mary Lou Retton's family finally has some news worth flipping over.

More than a week after the Olympic gymnast was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia, her daughters Shayla Schrepfer, 28, and McKenna Kelly, 26, shared a positive update on her health journey.

"Mom's progress is truly remarkable!" they shared on their separate Instagram pages Oct. 14. "Prayers have been felt and have been answers."

Though the athlete—who took home five medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles—remains in the ICU, "her path to recovery is steadily unfolding," they added. "Her fighting spirit is truly shining!"

"Her breathing is becoming stronger, and her reliance on machines is diminishing," Shayla and McKenna continued. "Though it's a lengthy journey, witnessing these improvements is incredibly heartening! She's responding so well to treatments."

For the family—which also includes Shayla and McKenna's sisters Skyla Kelly, 23, and Emma Kelly, 21—the outpouring of support has kept their spirits up.

As the duo concluded their posts, "We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your overwhelming love."

Earlier in the week, McKenna set up a Spotfund fundraiser for her mom, who she said was "fighting for her life."

"She is not able to breathe on her own," McKenna wrote. "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, she did acknowledge that her "amazing mom" did not have insurance and asked for both prayers and donations to help with hospital bills. "ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom," McKenna added. "Thank y'all so very much!"

On Oct. 11, Shayla shared in an Instagram video that the family was taking the diagnosis day by day.

"She's still fighting," she told her nearly 20K followers. "She is being treated by the best of the best professionals here. And it has been such a blessing to have their hands on her. So please continue the prayers. We cannot thank you enough for the love and support you guys have shown."

Which included raising more than $433,000 for Mary Lou. 

"My sisters and I are overwhelmed," Shayla said. "We didn't even realize that there's so many people out there that love her just as much as we do. And it's been a really hard time for our family, so just seeing that people love her like that, and are showing her that support, it's just meant the world to us and to her."

Also in Mary Lou's corner? Her former Dancing With the Stars partner Sasha Ferber. 

"I spoke to my sweet Mary Lou over text, during the show," Sasha, who was paired with the athlete during season 27 in 2018, recently told People, "and I reminded her that she needs to fight harder than ever, there is only ONE Mary Lou and that she has got this."