US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton reveals her condition is 'slowly improving' after being hospitalized by a rare form of pneumonia last month

US gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton says her condition is 'slowly improving' after being hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.

The Olympic gold medalist, 55, was taken into intensive care in a Texas hospital last month. 

Her daughter, McKenna Kelley, said then that the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title in 1984 was 'fighting for her life' and unable to breathe on her own.

But in a Thanksgiving update on her condition, Retton said she was making positive strides in her recovery. 

'As we gather to celebrate this Thanksgiving, my heart is overflowing with profound gratitude,' she wrote.

'I want to express how truly blessed and thankful I am to be slowly improving and to be home with my girls, especially after my time in the hospital.

'Your love has been a beacon of hope in my life. On this day of giving thanks, I am reminded of the preciousness of life, the love that surrounds me, and the resilience of the human spirit.

'Each one of you has played a significant role in my journey, and for that, I am eternally grateful.'

Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton's behalf to cover medical expenses because she does not have health insurance.

Retton was 16 when she became an icon of the U.S. Olympic movement during her gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. 

Retton, who grew up in Fairmont, West Virginia, also won two silver and two bronze medals at those Olympics to help bring gymnastics - a sport long dominated by eastern European powers like Romania and the Soviet Union - into the mainstream in the U.S.