period I had run out of my tampons so I
went down to the local store and I
bought a new box I came back upstairs I
changed my tampon I started feeling a
little off I had to go with my friend’s
birthday that night so I was laying in
bed and I was texting with my friends
said I feel a little weird I don’t feel
like myself
it was October it was flu season a lot
of my other friends were sick with the
flu so I just thought maybe I caught the
bug the afternoon came about I changed
my tampon again I then started feeling
even worse I texted with them again
saying I don’t know if I can go tonight
I’m going to try but it was my best
friend’s birthday so I thought I could
you know man up and go that evening I
took a shower I changed my tampon again
I drove myself to my friend’s birthday
as soon as I walked in the door every
single person looked at me and said wow
you look horrible at that moment it felt
as though a train had just hit me I felt
everything just at one time and I felt
so sick I knew I needed to go home and
go to my bed I job myself back to my
apartment I wanted all of my clothes off
because I was extremely hot I fell into
my bed I went to sleep my mother and I
are best friends we talk every single
day of every moment she didn’t hear from
me she at that time I just had surgery
was bedridden about an hour and a half
from where I was she was concerned
called the police called them to have a
welfare check done the only thing I
remember is my blind cocker spaniel
jumping on my chest ferociously barking
at me trying to get me to come to I was
delusional I was like what’s going on
she was barking barking barking I heard
the knocking at the door police police
open up I thought why are the police
here
I’m so confused I threw on a hoodie I
carried myself to the door it was one
officer he came inside my apartment he
looked around my
apartment he said you’re really sick
I said yes said your mom is very worried
about you you should call her he said
okay in that moment the police officer
just left i then carried myself back to
my bed I called my mother she was
frantic she said are you okay I said I’m
just really sick
she said well do you need an ambulance I
said well the cop just left so I’ll see
you in the morning
well that being said no one heard from
me my mom then had someone drive her to
my apartment called the police to come
again called for all of my friends to
meet at my place it took officers 30
minutes to get inside my apartment they
found me face down on my bedroom floor I
had developed a hundred and seven fever
my kidneys my organs were failing they
rushed me to the emergency room doctors
there wondering what’s going on I had a
massive heart attack why is this
twenty-four year old girl healthy active
in great shape dying right before our
eyes what’s going on thank God there
wasn’t a doctor an infectious disease
doctor on call he said well does she
have a tampon in as soon as they found
the tampon and they sent it off to the
lab it came back as TSS one toxic shock
syndrome after that the doctors placed
me in a medically induced coma and on
life support the doctors told my mother
to plan my funeral that there was no way
that I was coming out of this I woke up
a week and a half later from the
medically induced coma I was ballooned
up to 200 pounds my feet were in
excruciating pain it felt as though
someone was sitting there and lighting
my feet on fire constantly I had no idea
what was going on at no idea what
happened I saw my mother there was tubes
everywhere I was very confused I looked
outside I thought it was in Texas but
they wanted to get me to UCLA as fast as
possible because there is a hyperbaric
chamber which is basically two hundred
percent oxygen which will allow all the
blood to go to the necessities where the
blood needs to go to get the
organs and everything flowing my
ligaments everything I remember as they
were trying to figure out and trying to
get me moved there was nurse I was alone
in my room for the very first time I
always had my mother next to me always
had someone in the room a nurse was on
the phone to UCLA she stood behind a
curtain on the phone saying I have a 24
year old girl here who’s going to need a
right leg below the knee amputation
I was screamed I can’t even tell you the
feeling of knowing that she was speaking
about me how could this happen how could
I lose my mobility how can I lose my
legs there’s no way they rushed me to
UCLA I was there for about two months in
and out of the hyperbaric chamber
two-three hours a day trying to get my
legs come back gangrene had set in which
is very deadly they could spread to your
heart really fast it was moving further
and further up my leg and they told me
that I needed to amputate and amputate
fast my left foot was really severely
damaged as well my toes my heel doctors
gave me a 50-50 chance that I would ever
be able to walk and be functional again
they told me to amputate and I said no
because I believed in God I had faith
that somehow he would make this okay
somehow I had my whole leg I wouldn’t
have toes and my heel would forever be
who knows what was going to happen but I
had faith that he would he would make it
he would make it work so I had the
amputation and then went to another
rehab center in total I spent four
months in the hospital they had to shave
my head because of all the commotion
obviously no one cared about my hair
they cared about my life I was 200
pounds I had no right leg and my left
foot was completely open and we didn’t
know what was going to happen I was then
sent home in a wheelchair for eight
months back into a society where I had
no idea who I was my whole identity of
everyone everything I knew about myself
was completely stripped I was sent back
into my room these four walls became my
prison I pushed every single person I
could away from me my mother my family I
was so
shamed Who am I what am I gonna do
everything I knew was perfection was
beauty
I wasn’t that anymore there were so many
days that I wanted to end my life so
many days that I was trying to figure
out how can I kill myself how can I get
out of this misery this prison that I
felt at the time my brother was 14 and
he was the first to come home from
school every single day I knew that if I
had killed myself he was going to be the
one to find me I couldn’t do that to him
I couldn’t do that to my mother I
couldn’t allow myself to give in I had
to show him that no matter what happens
in life no matter the worst situation
that the darkest of times you have to
get up you have to fight I wanted to
show him that anything is possible at
that time I got a email from a girl
named Jennifer Rivero she happened to be
a photographer she was the only thing
that basically I felt safe talking to
because we knew each other but we
weren’t very close at the time I lied
and said that I was in New York modeling
everything was okay
but really I was in my bedroom trying
not to kill myself we fell in love over
the phone developed a relationship I
wasn’t walking at the time I was still
in my wheelchair I had a prosthetic
sitting in front of me I hated it I said
how could this become me how am I going
to become myself with this prosthetic
leg this is not who I am this thing is
just so plastic and just not a real leg
it wasn’t me so as months go on I used
her as my motivation I kept going into
physical therapy trying to learn how to
walk so that way I could walk up to her
front door and she could see me for me
and not for what happened not because I
don’t have a leg and half of a foot I
got to her place I told her what
happened and of course she gave me open
arms with love four months of the
romantic stage obviously the Depression
was still there I began to have PTSD
which is post-traumatic stress disorder
because of all the traumatic things that
were happening to me
she knew that she had a set of fire in
me otherwise I was going to I was going
to end my life
we then laid in bed and did research we
found a website called you are loved org
it’s basically a website that this woman
named Lisa elfreth’s had made she had
lost her daughter TSS in 2010 she was
only 16 once I read all of these little
girls stories who have either died or
it’s their mother’s writing their
stories trying to save other little
girls and informing them of the dangers
of tampons I knew that I had to stand up
I had to share this with the world that
I wasn’t the only one I was just the one
that got away we continued our research
into TSS and we came across the
congresswoman her name is carolyn
Maloney she’s out of New York City she’s
gone in front of Congress trying to pass
a bill called the Robin Danielson act
this bill is named after a woman who
died of toxic shock Center in 1998 the
bill is just basically for us as women
to know what’s going in our feminine
hygiene products and what the long-term
effects will have on our bodies it’s
been rejected by Congress
nine times so we said all right we got
to share my story we have to tell the
world Jennifer being an amazing
photographer had the idea of me standing
in shorts we wanted to release the story
of advice and we knew we had to share a
powerful informative but a different
survival story not a pity party but of a
strong woman standing there trying to
stand up for other women trying to save
as many lives as possible whether you’re
a man or a woman you always have a woman
in your life we released the story with
Vice I stood there for the first time in
shorts revealing myself to the world
this new me it was one of Isis biggest
stories of 2015
reaching six million views from then we
got a call from Nordstrom they wanted me
to be a part of their famous holiday
catalog they flew me to New York City I
was so scared I didn’t know what I was
going to be doing it was holiday was a
dresses was it heels how would my left
foot feel in the shoe
is how was I going to be able to shoot
what was I going to be able to do well I
had no idea I was so scared they
welcomed me with open arms they wanted
me to shoot for their activewear giving
my prosthetic it’s very own page
highlighting my disability highlighting
something that I thought I was ashamed
of showing a different side of beauty
then in February of 2016 I graced the
runways for the very first time debuting
myself for a brand named chrome app it
wasn’t a typical runway show showing
very voluptuous women transgender women
but also showcasing me an amputee
showing you a different side of beauty
celebrating us then I got a call from
Kenneth Cole in New York City he had
wanted me to be a part of his courageous
class this was everywhere every subway I
would walk on the subways I would see
myself other amputees taking pictures it
was amazing I was celebrated everyone
see me on the street and say hey you’re
the girl from the subway so much love so
much respect was overwhelming
I leave this stage today not only to
inform you of a huge women’s health
issue that we all need to stand up for
but also to show you that no matter what
happens in life no matter what hole
you’re in no matter what darkness you’re
at in your moments in life there’s
always an out and don’t let it define
you I am living proof that anything and
everything is possible thank you
[Applause] [Music]