Mary Lou Retton’s life-threatening battle with pneumonia is proof the condition doesn’t just strike the old and the young. Here’s how to protect yourself

(Credit: Peter Kramer—NBC Newswire/NBC Universal/Getty Images)

If you were taken aback by gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton’s life-threatening battle with pneumonia, you’re not the only one.

The five-time Olympic medalist is fighting for her life in a Texas hospital, according to the Associated Press, with what family members describe as a “very rare form of pneumonia.”