Lauren Wasser was diagnosed with Toxic Shock Syndrome from regular tampon use in 2012 and told she would have to have her leg amputated in order to survive. Even though she was just minutes away from death, she wasn't going to let that stand in the way of her dreams of walking the runway - and after months and months of physical therapy and emotional struggle - her dreams have finally become a reality.
The 28-year-old model, whose right leg is amputated below the knee, made her New York Fashion Week debut on Saturday during the Chromat Fall/Winter 2016 runway show and proudly showed off her gold prosthetic leg, according to Teen Vogue. Chromat, which is an NYC-based progressive lingerie, swim and active wear line designed by Becca McCharen, is known for its architectural cage designs and often features models like Wasser who defy the typical runway standards.
Wasser sported a black dress with a mesh LED light structural overlay with the brand's signature cage designs. She walked alongside transgender artist Juliana Huxtable, transgender model Isis King and plus-side models Denise Bidot and Sabina Karlsson.
"Becca speaks to the future, so it's easy for someone like me to believe in her because she believes in me," Wasser told Style Mic. "I feel honored to be apart of this brand. Plus it's awesome to grow alongside someone."
Wasser's journey to NYFW hasn't been an easy one as she's spent years getting to this point. When she was first diagnosed with TSS, she was rushed to the hospital with a 107 fever where she then suffered a heart attack, as HNGN previously reported. From there, her organs began to shut down and she was just 10 minutes from her death when they put her into a medically induced coma before making the lifesaving decision to amputate her leg.
"I literally was laying there, thinking my life was over," she told Today in July. "That I would never be accepted again, I could never model again. No one would look at me the same...I'm more beautiful than I've ever been because I've experience so many things, and I can relate to so many different people. And you know, it just made me a better person."
Toward the end of 2015, Wasser broke back into the fashion world when she was pictured in Nordstrom's holiday catalog wearing athletic gear and sneakers, proudly showing off her prosthetic leg, according to People. She then explained that she was "grateful to the brand for giving me this opportunity to share a different side of beauty as well as create change within the fashion industry by going against the norm."
