When Wasser was found unconscious in her home and rushed to the hospital in 2012, an infectious disease doctor ordered to check if she had a tampon in and after a test was done, she was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
The model claimed that she contracted the infection from her use of super-plus tampons.
Gangrene had developed over her right leg and toes, and Surgeons recommended amputation for both her legs. But she fought and managed to keep her left leg without her toes.
Wasser does not remember much about the moments after she fell ill. She does not remember having a high fever, neither of having a heart attack nor being on life support.
Wasser turned her loss into a public cause. She has been advocating for legislation that requires the National Institutes of Health to expand its research and regulation regarding tampons and other feminine hygiene products.
Feminine hygiene products are often implicated in cases of toxic shock syndrome.
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Toxic shock syndrome is a rare and highly dangerous bacterial infection. It can lead to shock, kidney failure, and death if not treated immediately.
Wasser is quoted as saying “I’m in daily excruciating pain. I have a golden leg that I am completely proud of, but my left foot that has an open ulcer, no heel, and no toes. Over the years, my body has produced a lot of calcium, which causes my bones to grow on that foot. Basically, my brain is telling my toes to grow back, and it got to the point where I need surgery to shave the bone down because it becomes too unbearable to walk. I can’t get my foot wet because of the open ulcer.
In a few months, I’m inevitably going to have my other leg amputated. There’s nothing I can do about it. But what I can do is help make sure that this doesn’t happen to others.”
Source: Medindia
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