Lauren Wasser is a Californian model who lost her right leg in 2012 for the most unusual reason I’ve ever heard.
Most of us can’t imagine how a hygiene product could lead to a nightmare and change your life forever.
Now Lauren is determined that no other woman should have to go through the same thing she’s gone through, and is sending out a warning about the dangers of an everyday product.
Lauren Wasser is a Californian model who went to the hospital in 2012 with flu symptoms. It turned out that she was not suffering with the flu, but menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS) caused by bacterial toxins.
The cause of the infection? A tampon. The use of tampons, especially if left for many hours, can cause an infection that causes what is known as menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS)
The mTTS left Lauren in a coma for more than a week, and upon awakening they had to amputate a leg because of the infection. She was 24 years old.
Nobody else should go through this
She also launched a tough legal battle against Kotex Natural Balance, the brand of tampons that caused her to react so severely.
”I’d been using the same product of tampons that I always had, following the instructions on the box, as all women do. That particular day, the toxins took over my body and I nearly died. I had a 42 degree-celsius fever, my kidneys and organs began failing and I had two heart attacks. I had a one-per-cent chance of survival,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
“Considering that the vagina is the most absorbent part of a woman’s body and is a gateway to many of our vital organs, it is crucial that consumers know the reality of what could happen to them,” Lauren wrote in InStyle.
Unfortunately, seven years after first being diagnosed with mTTS, Lauren also had to undergo amputation of her other leg.
”My world changed in an instant; I couldn’t even get up, let alone model. I lost sight of who I was and what I wanted from life. In my darkest moments, I considered suicide,” she says.
Found a greater purpose
What ultimately stopped Lauren from ending her life was the thought of her little brother. He was always the first to get home from school, and she couldn’t bear the idea of him being the one to find her. That single thought kept her holding on. Over time, she began to shift her mindset, choosing to see her struggle as a challenge instead of a defeat.
It wasn’t until later that Lauren learned the devastating truth: mTSS had been claiming the lives of women for decades. That revelation lit a fire in her. She became determined to speak up — not just for herself, but for the many others who had suffered in silence.
She found a greater purpose in being a voice for those women who lost their lives, their health, or their futures. “I should still have my legs,” Lauren says. “No woman should have to risk her life just by using a tampon.”
Over time, Lauren Wasser learned to accept and even embrace her new reality. It didn’t happen overnight—it was a slow, step-by-step process. Inspired by A$AP Rocky’s grills, she had her prosthetic legs cast in gold, seeing them not just as tools but as a form of art. “Why not wear gold jewelry all the time?” she reasoned. Today, she lives fully and unapologetically—running five miles a day, hiking with her dog, doing Pilates, playing basketball, and even starring in a global lingerie campaign. “There’s nothing I can’t do,” she says. “Plus, I don’t need any pedicures.”
“Own who you are”
Wasser knows that paving your own path is never easy, but it matters. She hopes others can see themselves in her story: just a regular woman who went through something traumatic and came out stronger.
Her message is clear — life will throw punches, but resilience opens the door to endless possibilities. “Own who you are,” she says, “and walk out that door every day with a smile—even if you don’t feel like it. Take control of your life and you’ll inspire others to do the same.”
She credits her faith in God for grounding her, but she also acknowledges that it’s okay not to be okay. “Society puts so much pressure on being happy all the time,” she says. “This January, care a little less about what people think.” In a world obsessed with social media validation, she encourages everyone to remember that they’re already enough.
