Rylie’s tampon nightmare: “I almost died from to

It was January 5, and Greenville, MI, student Rylie Whitten was anything but ready to head back to school. After a fun-filled holiday break, the 15-year-old was completely bed-ridden, and certain that she had a bad case of the flu. “I had body aches, a rash under my arms and was throwing up, but I didn’t think much of it,” Rylie recalls to J-14. “Then, all of a sudden, I couldn’t walk.” Nervous that something was seriously wrong, Rylie’s parents called an ambulance and she was rushed to her local hospital.

After doctors ran a series of tests, Rylie’s parents’ worst fears were confirmed: This was something much more serious than the flu. In fact, Rylie’s kidneys were failing, and the rest of her major organs were in danger. The cause? Toxic Shock Syndrome (also known as TSS), an infection that was attacking Rylie’s body, something she would later learn she contracted by using a tampon.