An LA-based model who had her leg amputated below the knee after contracting Toxic Shock Syndrome has re-launched her career as the face of a major clothing brand.
Lauren Wasser was found face down and unconscious in the bedroom of her Santa Monica apartment in 2012. The 27-year-old was on her period at the time and had been using tampons, leading specialists to quickly diagnose TSS.
TSS is a rare but dangerous infection caused by two types of bacteria which are commonly found in the nose and vagina: Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria. The materials used in tampons create an environment where the bacteria can thrive and cases of TSS are often connected with tampon use.
The infection rapidly developed into gangrene and her right leg had to be amputated. Doctors also considered amputating her left leg but managed to save it with two skin grafts. However, she did lose her toes and Wasser has been warned she could still face having her leg removed from the knee down by the time she turns 50.
"It f**s with you,” she told Vice earlier this year. “You live your whole life and think, 'I'm an athlete,' or, 'I'm a pretty girl,' but this was something physical that I had no control over. It took me a while to figure out if I was still worthy, if I was still pretty.”
Wasser has used her story to promote awareness of TSS and to campaign for more explicit warnings about the condition on tampon packaging.
Her girlfriend, the photographer Jennifer Rovero, captured her recovery in a series of pictures. Now, the pair is celebrating after Wasser was chosen to front the Nordstrom Holiday collection, her first major signing since falling ill three years ago.
Wasser said she was “stoked” to see the final pictures in a jubilant Instagram post. “Huge moment for me,” she wrote. “My first real job back in the modelling game. Huge moment for me and @fotofetish. We both cried that day face timing my mom on set in disbelief to have even been chosen for the Nordstrom Holiday catalogue.”
"Nordstrom has had a long history of incorporating diverse models into our catalogs, including those with disabilities (back to 1991)," a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. "We always want to do our best to reflect the diverse customers and communities we serve.”
