When I was 17, I almost lost my life from menstrual toxic shock from a tampon. My story begins on Sunday October 3, 2004 when I started my period.  Everything felt fine.  It was just my normal time of the month.  Then, on Tuesday October 5th, I began to feel like I was getting sick.  I remember complaining to my mom at dinner that my back was beginning to hurt like it does when I get sick.  That night, I did not sleep well. When my mom came in to check on me in the morning, I had a high … [Read more...]

A little over a year ago, I was one of the very lucky ones to survive Toxic Shock Syndrome.  It all began on Sunday, June 6, 2010 only a week after returning home from college for the summer.  Being 20 years old at the time, I never imagined myself getting so sick.  In the beginning of my sickness, I thought I had food poisoning or the flu. The symptoms were very similar and I never thought twice about it.  Hours went by and I was only getting worse.  I continued throwing up for about 8 … [Read more...]

Tuesday, March 29 2011, was just like any other weeknight at our house. At the time, I was 30 years old. I had just gotten my four babies tucked into bed for the night. We are the parents of four small children...twin boys, and two little girls. I had just given birth to my daughter four months before, and was recovering well from a c-section. I had been feeling pretty good until that night, when I noticed my palms were really itchy. No matter how much I scratched, they still itched like … [Read more...]