The Diary of a CEOShocking TRUE Story: “I Lost Both Of My Legs Because Of A Tampon” (Health Warning) - Lauren Wasser
CHAPTERS
- 3:30 – 9:00
Perfection, Modeling, and a Tomboy Athlete Childhood
Lauren recounts growing up in the Los Angeles fashion world with supermodel parents while identifying as a tomboy and committed basketball player. She explains how early exposure to beauty standards contrasted with her athletic identity and how sports instilled the discipline and resilience that would later help her survive.
- •Raised around elite models in the 80s–90s (Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell era), with a glamorous but image-obsessed environment.
- •Father was a successful model who succumbed to drugs and homelessness; mother was a high-profile model who had Lauren at 21.
- •Lauren rejected high-glam expectations, preferring basketball shorts and vintage tees, and dreamed of being a WNBA star.
- •She believes sports mentality—showing up daily, giving your all—laid the groundwork for her later survival.
- 9:00 – 21:30
October 3, 2012: From Flu Symptoms to 10 Minutes From Death
Lauren walks through the day her life changed: a heavy period, feeling flu-ish, repeated tampon changes, and a worsening illness that was mistaken for the seasonal flu. After a failed welfare check and hours on her apartment floor, she was found near death and rushed to hospital, where a rare doctor recognized TSS.
- •Used super-absorbent tampons due to heavy periods, changed them every few hours as taught by her mother.
- •Developed intense flu-like symptoms, extreme heat, and disorientation; friends remarked she looked very sick.
- •Police initially visited for a welfare check but left after telling her to call her mom; she remained at home with a 107°F fever.
- •Her mother’s persistence led to a second welfare check; police found Lauren face down, incontinent, and 10 minutes from death.
- •At St. John’s, she rapidly deteriorated; an infectious disease doctor asked about a tampon, identified TSS-1, and initiated life-saving treatment.
- 21:30 – 30:10
Coma, Organ Failure, and Discovering Toxic Shock Syndrome
Lauren describes her week-and-a-half in a coma, the extreme medical interventions used to keep her alive, and her disorienting awakening in a swollen body. She learns that she had a 1% chance of survival and that her case was caused by toxic shock syndrome from a tampon, not misuse.
- •Body flooded with ~100 pounds of fluid to manage toxins; she woke at ~200 pounds with tubes and machines everywhere.
- •Family, friends, and community lined the hospital to say goodbye; a casket was prepared.
- •Doctors misdiagnosed TSS frequently; her correct diagnosis was partly a miracle of having the right specialist on call.
- •Lauren clarifies TSS isn’t simply from leaving tampons in too long; toxicity of the products and bacterial conditions play central roles.
- •She learns TSS has killed hundreds of thousands since the early 1980s and remains under-acknowledged.
- 30:10 – 39:40
Facing Amputation: Shock, Gangrene, and a Broken System
In ICU, Lauren’s extremities darken as her body preserves vital organs, leading doctors to consider amputating both legs and possibly hands. She overhears a nurse scheduling her right leg amputation, spirals into panic, and is transferred to UCLA for hyperbaric therapy amid stark lessons about healthcare inequality.
- •Feet and hands turned black as blood was shunted to vital organs; hands later recovered for unknown reasons, feet did not.
- •Lauren first hears “below-knee amputation” when a nurse discusses her case on the phone behind a curtain; she screams for her family.
- •Transferred to UCLA’s hyperbaric chamber to try to salvage tissue; describes claustrophobic, submarine-like sessions watching her feet mummify.
- •Experiences callous medical communication (e.g., a doctor saying she could “go home and your toes will just fall off”).
- •Realizes access to top-tier care depended on personal connections and insurance, highlighting systemic inequities in whose life is prioritized.
- 39:40 – 47:00
Choosing Life Over Limbs: Surgery, Raw Pain, and Family Trauma
Doctors tell Lauren gangrene is racing up her right leg and that amputation is required to save her life, with uncertain prospects for her damaged left foot. She signs consent forms amid terror, undergoes surgery, and then endures 24 hours without pain medication due to heart complications, feeling every cut.
- •Presented with a stark choice: amputate right leg (and toes/heel on left) or die as infection spreads to her heart.
- •Godfather advised amputating both legs early; Lauren couldn’t psychologically process that and opted to try to save the left.
- •Describes being wheeled to surgery screaming, with “YES” and “NO” written on her legs in marker to guide surgeons.
- •Mother kissed her feet and legs goodbye, then broke down as Lauren was taken to the OR.
- •Post-op complication meant no pain medication for 24 hours; Lauren says she felt like a shark had ripped through her leg, throwing and screaming in agony.
- •Mother carries deeper trauma than Lauren, having witnessed and managed every crisis; Lauren wishes her mom could find the peace she herself has reached.
- 47:00 – 55:40
Eight Months in a Wheelchair: Depression, Suicide Ideation, and Faith
After discharge, Lauren returns home in a wheelchair with a precarious left foot and grieves her old life. She hides from the world, experiences intense daily pain and suicidal thoughts, yet an inner voice and love for her family keep her from acting on them, while she wrestles with anger at God.
- •Blackout curtains, hoodies, and sweatpants became her armor; she couldn’t imagine modeling, athletics, or romantic love anymore.
- •Daily shower ritual involved wheeling in, sitting on a stool, screaming and crying, and contemplating ways to end her life.
- •A persistent inner message—“Just hold on”—and the thought of her younger brother finding her body stopped her from attempting suicide.
- •She spent months in a wheelchair, gaining a profound respect for those who live permanently in chairs and face an inaccessible world.
- •Lauren notes she rarely cries about her own physical trauma but becomes emotional over the impact on her mother and brother.
- •Therapy and an evolving relationship with faith helped her move from rage at God to seeing a larger purpose in her survival.
- 55:40 – 1:05:20
Seven Years of Pain, Limb-Salvage Attempts, and the Second Amputation
Lauren details the grueling seven-year effort to salvage her left leg: repeated surgeries, skin grafts, bone overgrowth, and relentless heel pain. Eventually she chooses to amputate the second leg at 30, a decision she says finally gave her back her life, freedom, and athletic identity.
- •Left foot endured multiple operations: removal of overgrowing bone, baby-foreskin grafts (Apligraf) to replace destroyed heel skin, weekly wound care.
- •Sweat glands and fat pads were damaged; walking felt like bone grinding on surfaces, akin to a constant toothache in her foot.
- •She persisted because she wanted to “exhaust every option” and believed keeping the leg meant preserving her old life.
- •Ultimately recognized the leg was a prison—she couldn’t run, play basketball, or walk comfortably—and elected a second amputation.
- •Calls losing her first leg what saved her life, and losing the second what gave her freedom; she wishes she might have done it sooner, while acknowledging she may not have coped psychologically at 24.
- •The death of her beloved godfather shortly after this second surgery reinforced her sense of carrying on for her “angels.”
- 1:05:20 – 1:11:40
From Hiding to Golden Legs: Identity, Disability, and Representation
Lauren describes the evolution from hiding her prosthetic under baggy clothes to embracing gleaming gold legs inspired by A$AP Rocky’s gold grill. She shares how kids react with wonder, not fear, and how visible confidence shifts public perception of disability and encourages curiosity instead of shame.
- •At first she concealed her limb loss, terrified of judgment; acceptance grew as she experimented with prosthetics and styling.
- •Chose gold legs as a bold, jewelry-like statement—“my trophies”—and a physical manifestation of ownership and pride.
- •Children often don’t notice right away, then become fascinated; she invites their questions, framing her legs as superhero/robot limbs.
- •Critiques parents who tell kids “don’t stare,” arguing this inadvertently teaches that disability is wrong rather than merely different.
- •Highlights huge costs and inequities in prosthetics: basic “peg legs” vs advanced feet and blades (her running blades cost ~US$125,000).
- •Credits sponsors and groups like Össur and Challenged Athletes Foundation for enabling her to run, model, and live actively—access most amputees don’t have.
- 1:11:40 – 1:15:50
Inside Toxic Tampons: Chemicals, Early Puberty, and Corporate Greed
Lauren breaks down how tampons and many pads are manufactured with toxic substances and how early menstruation due to hormone-laden food increases risk. She argues that companies and regulators have failed to act because it’s cheaper to maintain the status quo and settle lawsuits than redesign products.
- •Tampons are “corks” trapping blood at a delicate time, creating ideal conditions for toxin-producing bacteria.
- •Common components: chlorine, bleach, dioxin, synthetic fibers, and pesticides—even in organic cotton products.
- •Girls now get periods as young as 8–10, likely influenced by hormones in food; their bodies have fewer defenses against these toxins.
- •Reports of TSS from menstrual cups and organic products show that most marketed alternatives are not inherently risk-free.
- •Despite decades of deaths and injuries, tampons remain largely unchanged since the 1980s; only advertising and packaging evolved.
- •Lauren contends that male-dominated corporate boards and legislatures, detached from the realities of menstruation, deprioritize women’s safety.
- 1:15:50 – 1:21:00
Advocacy, Legislation, and the Fight for Safer Menstrual Products
Lauren outlines her advocacy work alongside Dawn Mesavi, whose daughter died of TSS, to push for federal legislation mandating research, regulation, and transparency for menstrual products. She connects personal storytelling, including a forthcoming documentary, to policy change and envisions a future where no one faces what she did.
- •Collaborates with dontshockme.org and bereaved families to raise awareness and lobby lawmakers.
- •The Robin Danielson Act, named after a woman who died of TSS in 1998, was rejected 10 times; Lauren helped push for its reintroduction with Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
- •She confronts legislators with raw stories and grief-stricken mothers to humanize the issue and force urgency.
- •Her goal: bills that require ingredient disclosure, independent safety testing, and development of non-toxic menstrual products.
- •Believes her “job is done” only when safer products are standard and people who menstruate can go about life without wondering if their tampon will kill them.
- 1:21:00 – 1:46:55
Meaning, Acceptance, and the Choice to Keep Living
In closing, Lauren reflects on purpose, forgiveness, and what she wants her legacy to be. She rejects forgiving corporations that knowingly sell harmful products, but fully accepts her own path, insisting she would not undo what happened because it allows her to save lives and fight for future generations.
- •She distinguishes between acceptance and forgiveness, expressing ongoing anger at companies that prioritize profit over women’s safety.
- •Sees herself as “the lucky one” who survived to speak for countless women who died or remain invisible.
- •Frames strength as rooted in vulnerability—crying, asking for help, sitting in discomfort—not just stoicism.
- •Emphasizes that everyone faces unseen battles; her visible prosthetics act as a beacon that surviving the darkest tunnel is possible.
- •States she would not choose to have her old life and legs back, because her current purpose and impact mean more.
- •Imagines her future self telling her she “did what she set out to do”—changed lives, influenced the world, and never stopped despite obstacles.
