A 28-year-old model is standing back up after losing her leg due to a bout with Toxic Shock Syndrome that was caused by a tampon.
The woman nearly lost her life that fateful day, but she is now back as a model with a golden prosthetic leg and a mission to raise awareness for Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Model Loses Leg From Toxic Tampon
In 2012, Lauren Wasser, who was 24 years old at the time, was on her period when she ran out of tampons. She went to the local store to refill her stocks and changed her tampon once she got back to her apartment.
As she was planning to go to a party with her friends, Wasser said that she started feeling flu-like symptoms, including a headache and feeling nauseous. Wasser proceeded to go the party, but her friends sent her home as she looked very sick when she arrived.
She got back home, and the next thing that she remembered was that her blind Cocker Spaniel was pounding her chest and barking, while police were outside her apartment door and asking her to open up.
The police said that Wasser needed to call her mother, who was worried about her. The mother offered to get her an ambulance, but Wasser said that she only needed sleep.
Wasser's mother said that she would check up on her daughter again in the morning, but there was no response. She called for the police to check on Wasser again, and after they pushed through the front door of her apartment, the model was found face down on her bedroom floor.
Wasser said that she had a heart attack, with a fever of 107 degrees and kidneys that were failing. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors could not figure out what was happening to her. An infectious disease doctor had the staff check if Wasser had a tampon on, and lab analysis revealed that she suffered from Toxic Shock Syndrome due to the tampon.
"They were telling my mum and my godfather to start preparing my funeral because there was no way I was walking out of there - it would have been a miracle." Wasser recalled.
She was placed in a medically induced coma while she underwent several blood transfusions and pumped with fluids to get rid of the toxins that invaded her body. Unfortunately, the doctors were not able to save her right leg from being amputated below the knee, as the infection made it gangrenous.
Wasser Stands Back Up
Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare but potentially fatal condition that is triggered when bacteria enters the body and releases harmful toxins.
However, Wasser, after going through what she described as "f****** hell," is now back in the modelling circuit with a gold prosthetic leg. She has also become an advocate for women's health, as she looks to raise awareness of Toxic Shock Syndrome, while campaigning for wider research on tampons and the risks related to their usage.
