Lauren Wasser
Lauren Wasser
Lauren Wasser (March 2, 1988) [1] is an American model, actress, activist, and amputee. [4] She is a survivor of toxic shock syndrome.
Early Life & Education
Wasser modeling for Kenneth Cole
Lauren Wasser was born to a single mother who was a model.
Her mother underwent an emergency cesarean section in order to give birth to her. When she was 2 years old, Lauren survived a drowning accident. [15]
She grew up in the modeling industry, as both her parents were models when she was 4 months old.
When she was 4 years old, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. [15]
She traveled a lot with her mom.
When wasn't traveling, she go to her mother's modeling gigs - sometimes with a nanny and sometimes without, depending on the client.
Career
Modeling
Lauren was a model at an early age.
She appeared on the pages of Vogue Italia as an infant. [16]
In 2016, she modeled for Kenneth Cole and was part of Kenneth Cole Productions Courageous Class. [10] She was also a runway model for Chromat during New York Fashion Week [24] [25] [35] Most recently, her golden legs even graced the stage of Rihanna‘s Savage X Fenty show during New York Fashion Week.[47]
Acting
In addition to modeling, Wasser has found a place in acting.
In October 2017, she played a role in Louder Milk, a show about a recovering alcoholic and substance abuse counselor. [15]
Toxic Shock Syndrome
Leg Amputation
On October 3, 2012, [12] when she was 24 years old, Wasser suffered from toxic shock syndrome. At the time, Wasser was on her period. She changed her tampon, went back upstairs, and laid in her bed. As she was texting her girlfriends on her friend's birthday, she started to wonder whether she was going to hang out with them because of how much physical pain she was in. Eventually, she started to have symptoms similar to those related to the flu. [20]
When she showed up at the Darkroom on Melrose Avenue, her friends said that she needed to go home because she looked extremely ill. She drove herself back to her apartment and went to sleep. [20]
The next thing she remembers is the police pounding on her bedroom door and her dog barking on her chest.
The police officer, who arrived at Wasser's apartment for a welfare check, told her to call her mom because she was really worried about her. [20]
Later, her mother ordered another welfare check and told her girlfriends to go to her apartment again because Wasser wasn't answering her phone again.
The police got to her apartment, only to find her lying face down on the floor.
Initially confused as to why an otherwise healthy 24-year-old woman was not responsive to the medicine, they eventually removed the tampon from her body.
Once the tampon was removed, Wasser became more receptive to the medicine and antibiotics the doctors gave her.
The lab results came back and showed that she had toxic shock syndrome. [20]
Wasser was in a medically-induced coma for 1 1/2 weeks.
Doctors pumped her with 80 pounds of fluids to get the toxins out of her body and conducted several blood transfusions. [12] [20] In addition, she underwent an below-the-knee amputation on her right leg and lost the toes on her left foot. [10]
In December 2017, it was reported that her other leg revealed that her left leg will need to be amputated because bones continue to grow where her toes once were.
She had her leg amputated in January of 2018.
On her journey to recovery, Wasser said candidly that "it’s been one hell of a ride."
The traumatic experience of the disease had even taken a toll on her mental health.
"I honestly can’t believe I’m alive, let alone thriving in life.
I went from almost dying to contemplating suicide, and thinking I would never be loved.
My whole identity was stripped from me and I had to reinvent myself.
I never would have imagined that I would be in this position but I’m so grateful to have this platform to do good and inspire others."[47]
Lawsuit
In 2015, Lauren Wasser and her family filed a lawsuit against Kimberly-Clark's Kotex brand and grocery store chains Ralph's and Kroger for negligence. [12] The lawsuit stated that the corporations were "negligently, wantonly, recklessly, tortuously, and unlawfully responsible in some manner" for Lauren's illness and the loss of her leg. [42]
One of the arguments made against the Kotex, the tampon manufacturer, is that their written warnings need to be changed to reduce the risk of toxic shock; the warning instructed women to “change [their] tampon every four to eight hours, including overnight.
[42] The Wassers also called for boxed warning to be included on the tampon packaging, similar to warnings provided on dangerous prescription medications as mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. [42]
The Wasser family also questions the industry's use of synthetic materials and looks to raise concerns about whether these materials increase the risk of TSS and other infections.
Activism
Since surviving toxic shock syndrome, Lauren has used her modeling platform to raise awareness about the disease and the effects tampons may have on women.
She has been in contact with New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who introduced the Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act in March 2015. Named after a woman who died of TSS in 1998, [12] the bill aims to amend the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to do more extended research on feminine hygiene products and the potential health risks they may cause to women and/or children during a women's pregnancy. [20] [40]
In addition to trying to help enforce policies, she was able to give a TED Talk as a guest speaker in Tel Aviv, entitled "Don't Look for Fashion Models, Look for Role Models." [19] She recalls a moment when a 13-year-old girl grabbed her off-stage and told her that she suffered from bullying and bulimia and, after listening to her speech, decided not to take her own life. [19]