But she never could have guessed what would happen next. After feeling unwell and thinking she was sick with a bad cold or flu, she was discovered just minutes from death in her apartment. Facedown and completely unconscious, covered in her own vomit and feces.
Her mother called the police when she didn’t hear from her daughter, and thank goodness a wellness check was completed because the advocate could have lost her life if nobody found her.
Her fever skyrocketed to 107 degrees at the hospital, culminating in a heart attack and organ failure. Doctors then placed her in a medically-induced coma. After being sent to an infectious disease specialist, staff was sent to check if she had a tampon inside of her.
When the test was done, it was determined that she officially had TSS, otherwise known as toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is a rare bacterial infection that can be seriously life-threatening when contracted. TSS is often misdiagnosed since it can resemble more common illnesses like the flu, as we can see in Lauren Wasser’s case.
