Although she was fortunate to live to tell the tale, the damage from the gangrene in her legs was irreversible. Both legs needed to be amputated if she wanted to survive. When interviewed on the podcast, Lauren explained that it felt like her feet were being lit on fire, creating an extremely painful burning sensation.
She added, “My right leg was worse than my left, my toes on my left were turning purple but my right side, there was a lot more damage, you could tell. So then the concern came in that basically they needed to amputate my right leg to save my life or I was going to die.”
She discovered the news by overhearing a nurse’s conversation. After leaving the hospital, Wasser spent eight months in a wheelchair, reliving her trauma daily and experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Although they initially managed to save her left leg, the next six years caused major pain, and ultimately, that leg was amputated as well, right before her 30th birthday.
Since her accident, Lauren has spent much of her time raising TSS awareness and advocating for those who use menstrual products and must be properly educated about the risks. Tampons often contain dioxin, chlorine bleach, and synthetic fibers, which aren’t the best for our bodies.
