This model just lost her second leg to toxic shock syndrome

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January 24, 2018 2:08 PM

Model Lauren Wasser lost her right leg to toxic shock syndrome in 2012 when she was just 24 years old.

Lauren Wasser contracted toxic shock syndrome from a tampon in 2012.

Model Lauren Wasser lost her right leg to toxic shock syndrome in 2012 when she was just 24 years old. But even years later, she continued to suffer, telling The Washington Post recently that she was still in “excruciating pain” every day and that she thought she would “inevitably” have to have her left leg amputated as well.

Unfortunately, Lauren's prediction recently came true.

On January 8, Lauren said on Instagram that her life was about to change. “Life is about to be so different, again! I’m in great spirits though and ready for my next chapter,” she wrote. And recently, she posted a photo on Instagram of herself in the hospital with her left leg amputated below the ankle.

Other people have also posted about Lauren and her procedure on social media. Her partner, photographer Jennifer Rovero, shared details of Lauren’s surgery on Instagram. “Surgery was January 11th at 7:30am.

It’s now January 16th at 1:45pm and my babe is doing great,” she wrote next to a close-up of what seems to be Lauren using a walker. “There’s moments of muscle cramping and nerve pain but despite all of that she’s getting up!”

Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy also posted about Lauren’s progress. “Today I stopped by the hospital to visit @theimpossiblemuse ! If you don’t know about her, she is a model and just had her second leg amputated due to Toxic Shock Syndrome,” Amy wrote on Instagram, next to a photo of herself and Lauren sitting on a hospital bed.

“Our stories are so similar and in fact they thought I had TSS when I first entered the hospital. Lauren is so beautiful and strong, I’m telling ya, this chick is going to go far. Make sure to check her page out and read her story! Lauren , you are amazing!!”

Lauren has been outspoken about the dangers of TSS after she contracted it from a tampon. TSS is caused by exposure to the staphylococcus bacteria, which releases toxins into the blood stream. Those toxins can then spread throughout a person’s body and organs, causing damage.

While the condition is rare, nearly 75 percent of the TSS cases in the U.S. between 1979 and 1996 were linked to tampon use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sherry Ross, M.D., previously told Women's Health that while TSS is "extremely rare," women should still take precautions. She recommends changing tampons every four to eight hours, using the lowest-absorbency tampons available, and alternating between pads and tampons when your flow is light.

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