A model lost both her legs because of TSS
Lauren Wasser, the model who lost both her legs to toxic shock syndrome (TSS), is back: on the runway, coaching basketball, and throwing herself into activism she hopes will change the tampon industry, she tells People. But she's also opening up about the dark times she experienced after her initial amputation back in 2012. After a tampon left Lauren in a coma from toxic shock syndrome when she was just 24 years old, she woke up with gangrene in her right leg, and extensive damage to her left. Initially, only the right was amputated. "My legs were my everything," Lauren told People. She left the hospital feeling devastated.
"As soon as I got back home, it was like reality hit," she recalls. "The identity that I knew was completely stripped of me. I hid, and I hated life, I hated everything. The sun would bother me." "Suicide was definitely my go-to, and I've never been that person," she continued. "That's just not in my blood."
She credits her bounceback to her girlfriend, photographer Jennifer Rovero, who helped lift her out of her depression. "I wouldn't have gotten out of that prison in my own mind if it wasn't for her," Lauren told People. "She really was an angel at that moment because she would continually remind me of who I used to be and what I used to love." Jen not only forced Lauren back into the world—she started doing research, and figured out that Lauren's story was not unique. She inspired Lauren into activism: Now, Lauren champions awareness about the toxic makeup of tampons and legislation that would require tampon companies to be more transparent about what they put in their products.
In early 2018, the pain in Lauren's remaining leg got to be too much and she made the decision to undergo a second amputation. But she's recovered well and is feeling positive about the future. Jennifer and I joke about it all the time, it’s unbelievable that this is where we are,” she told People. “I was going to give up. I see my little brother now and the man that he’s becoming. I would have missed out on all of these things [like] being able to call my mom and tell her I love her, and to even just meet Jen. I wouldn’t have been able to do that and to know what love really is. I think that that’s just gifts that you can’t buy.”She adds: “This whole experience, as hard as it’s been, it’s been a blessing in a sense because I’ve been given so much.”
"As soon as I got back home, it was like reality hit," she recalls. "The identity that I knew was completely stripped of me. I hid, and I hated life, I hated everything. The sun would bother me." "Suicide was definitely my go-to, and I've never been that person," she continued. "That's just not in my blood."
She credits her bounceback to her girlfriend, photographer Jennifer Rovero, who helped lift her out of her depression. "I wouldn't have gotten out of that prison in my own mind if it wasn't for her," Lauren told People. "She really was an angel at that moment because she would continually remind me of who I used to be and what I used to love." Jen not only forced Lauren back into the world—she started doing research, and figured out that Lauren's story was not unique. She inspired Lauren into activism: Now, Lauren champions awareness about the toxic makeup of tampons and legislation that would require tampon companies to be more transparent about what they put in their products.
In early 2018, the pain in Lauren's remaining leg got to be too much and she made the decision to undergo a second amputation. But she's recovered well and is feeling positive about the future. Jennifer and I joke about it all the time, it’s unbelievable that this is where we are,” she told People. “I was going to give up. I see my little brother now and the man that he’s becoming. I would have missed out on all of these things [like] being able to call my mom and tell her I love her, and to even just meet Jen. I wouldn’t have been able to do that and to know what love really is. I think that that’s just gifts that you can’t buy.”She adds: “This whole experience, as hard as it’s been, it’s been a blessing in a sense because I’ve been given so much.”
