Amputee model who lost a leg due to toxic shock syndrome, made her catwalk debut at New York Fashion Week wearing a gold prosthetic limb. Lauren Wasser, 28, thought she would never be able to model again after losing her right leg following a serious bout of toxic shock syndrome.
However, less than three years after the New York and Los Angeles resident walked the runway in Chromat’s Fall/Winter 2016 show.
Lauren is very popular for raising awareness around toxic shock syndrome after she was stricken down at the age of 24 with the illness after she had used a super-plus tampon while on her period
‘I was on my period and I was using super plus tampons. So I just started doing my usual routine and I just started feeling really sick,’ she said in a video. ‘I got to my apartment and I just felt so hot. I just wanted everything off me immediately, and I just wanted my bed. I didn’t care about anything else’. ‘So I immediately stripped off everything and got in my bed, and that’s the last thing that I remember,’ she added.
She was found at the brink of death by police after her concerned mother requested a wellness check after not hearing from her in a while. She was rushed to the hospital with a 107 degrees Fahrenheit fever and a heart attack and luckily was treated by an infectious disease specialist who was able to diagnose toxic shock syndrome.
Sadly, after being put in a medically-induced coma to try and improve her condition, her legs became infected with gangrene and doctors eventually had to amputate her right leg and remove the toes and heel from her left foot.
After her recovery, Lauren was doubtful that she would never model again, but she posed for some photos for her photographer girlfriend, Jennifer Rovero sometime after and through that ‘photo therapy’ she began to build her confidence again.
Soon after, Lauren was modelling again. She most recently starred in an active-wear campaign modeling Nike running shoes for Nordstrom in December 2015.
Source; DailyMail Online