Model reveals 'hell' of losing leg to Toxic Shock Syndrome 'caused by tampon'
A young model with aspirations to become a WNBA player has claimed a tampon forced doctors to amputate her leg in a desperate bid to save her life.
Lauren Wasser was 24 years old and enjoying a glamorous lifestyle in California when she suffered a near fatal bout of Toxic Shock Syndrome in 2012.
October 3 that year started out like any other day for Lauren, but when she ran downstairs to pick up a box of tampons she had no idea just how quickly her life was about to change.
Waking up from a nap feeling a little groggy, the LA resident said she put her symptoms down to flu season.
After lasting only a few minutes at a friend’s birthday dinner, she headed home and went straight to bed.
But when she didn’t answer her phone, her mother became increasingly worried and called the police to conduct a welfare check.
“I opened the door and let the officer inside. He looked around and then at me and said, ‘You’re really sick. You need to call your mom because she’s worried about you’,” Lauren told InStyle.
“The police agreed to check on me again and this time found me face down on the floor.
“I had a 107F (42C) fever, my kidneys were failing, I had a heart attack.”
Rushed to hospital, doctors discovered the tampon and immediately sent it off for testing before Lauren was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent multiple blood transfusions to flush her body of the toxins.
“Three days later the results came back with signs of TSS-1 (toxic shock syndrome),” she added.
“When I woke up from the coma a week and a half later, I had no idea where I was and no recollection of what had happened.”
She said she first learned that her leg was going to be amputated when she overheard a nurse making a phone call.
Emotionally and physically exhausted, Lauren described it as “f****g hell” looking down and seeing the words ‘no’ and ‘yes’ scribbled on each leg to show which was going to be amputated.
Five years later, she is now used to life with a prosthetic limb and has since been involved with countless modelling gigs and is doing everything she can to raise awareness about TSS prevention.
“Toxic Shock Syndrome cost me my leg, but, years later, I have since dedicated myself to raising awareness about TSS prevention,” she wrote.
"I am comfortable in my new role as an advocate against an affliction that affects thousands. I want to educate women about the potential risks of using tampons.
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