“I Almost Died and Lost Both My Legs Because of a Tampon, but Survived as a Successful Model”

LA-based model Lauren Wasser, age 35, almost died after a tampon gave her Toxic Shock Syndrome. As a result of TSS, she had both her legs amputated but survived to tell the tale of her near-death experience. Sharing her story and the impact of the traumatizing experience on Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO Podcast.

Lauren first started feeling symptoms of the flu. Little did she know these flu-like symptoms would soon lead to a severe heart attack. She then went on life support, and gangrene started taking over both legs. As a result, both legs were amputated below the knee.

After the harrowing experience, Lauren Wasser made it her life mission to warn young girls and women about the possible risks and side effects of using tampons. She promotes legislation for further transparency in the sale of feminine hygiene products.

In 2012, Wasser was 24 years old. At the time, she had rejected the offer of a full basketball scholarship at a prestigious university in order to pivot to her passion — a career in fashion.

But she never could have guessed what would happen next. After feeling unwell and thinking she was sick with a bad cold or flu, she was discovered just minutes from death in her apartment. Facedown and completely unconscious, covered in her own vomit and feces.

Her mother called the police when she didn’t hear from her daughter, and thank goodness a wellness check was completed because the advocate could have lost her life if nobody found her.

Her fever skyrocketed to 107 degrees at the hospital, culminating in a heart attack and organ failure. Doctors then placed her in a medically-induced coma. After being sent to an infectious disease specialist, staff was sent to check if she had a tampon inside of her.

When the test was done, it was determined that she officially had TSS, otherwise known as toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is a rare bacterial infection that can be seriously life-threatening when contracted. TSS is often misdiagnosed since it can resemble more common illnesses like the flu, as we can see in Lauren Wasser’s case.