Mary Lou Retton is thankful to be alive after a health scare in 2023 that almost took her life.

The Gold medal gymnast is opening up about her battle with what doctors are saying was a rare form of pneumonia that she says should have killed her.

“I literally — I’m not exaggerating — I should be dead,” she says though tears in an interview with People. “So yes, I feel like a new lease on life.”

The former Olympian also reveals what is was like having her family go through such a scary experience with her. She says the hospital called her daughter, Emma, to bring Retton in.

“They called my youngest daughter, Emma, who was still in college at Arkansas, and said, ‘You need to get your mom here, she’s not gonna make it,'” she recounts. “So they did and they prayed over me, I’m told.”

Retton doesn’t remember much from that experience, but she says her children also took that time to say their final goodbyes. They even told her it was okay if she died.

“But for whatever reason, He’s not … He’s not ready for me,” she says with a chuckle, as she points her finger up to heaven.

How Is Mary Lou Retton Doing Now?

Although doctors determined that what the former Team USA was battling was a rare form of pneumonia, they’re not sure entirely sure that’s what it was or how she got it. Retton says she has scarring in her lungs which will affect her for the rest of her life.

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