She lived life to the fullest, 3

even in the short amount of time she was here with us. 4

I can't begin to tell you how much I miss my daughter. 5

A day ago, she was healthy. 6

She was walking around happy, laughing, 7

excited for her birthday, 8

and by the time they got here, 9

she had already looked at me with her eyes, 10

and they closed, 11

and I'm screaming at her, don't leave me, I love you, 12

please don't leave Mommy. 13

She died in my arms. 14

It's a horror no one wants to experience, 15

but it has become Dawn Massabni's reality. 16

And it's, and I have to excuse my language, 17

but it's a living hell. 18

I really couldn't believe it 19

how that could happen so quickly. 20

We are dynamite, 21

and we are dynamite. 22

Her 19-year-old daughter Madalyn 23

died from Toxic Shock Syndrome, or TSS, in 2017. 24

Toxic Shock Syndrome is a syndrome 25

when women can go into shock 26

because they have retained foreign bodies, 27

that means forgotten foreign bodies in their vagina. 28

What can happen is they can 29

have severely low blood pressure, 30

fever, rash on their body, 31

and they can very quickly go into shock-like situation 32

in which they may need support, 33

meaning ventilatory support and intravenous fluids, 34

et cetera. 35

It can be caused by any foreign body, 36

but tampons are common culprits 37

because they are commonly forgotten, 38

and it's easy to forget a tampon in there. 39

Dr. Gupta says anyone who is experiencing TSS 40

needs to get to a doctor immediately. 41

Toxic Shock Syndrome can be treated by, 42

first and foremost, intravenous fluids. 43

Hydration is important. 44

Patient should be in intensive care unit setting, 45

an ICU setting, 46

and they need intravenous antibiotics A.S.A.P. 47

TSS is an experience 19-year-old Rylie Whitten 48

will not forget. 49

She nearly died of TSS when she was just 15 years old. 50

I got this, like, new brand of tampons, 51

and I change them frequently, 52

so it wasn't like I left them in for very long time, 53

'cause it was a new brand, and, you know, 54

you don't trust them if you're using something new. 55

It wasn't after like four hours that day. 56

I didn't start feeling good. 57

Something just felt off. 58

We thought it was the flu, so it was about three days. 59

It just progressively started getting worse 60

with symptoms of like throwing up. 61

When Rylie's mom called the doctor, 62

she said they brushed her symptoms off. 63

They were kind of like, oh, I have like body shivers, 64

body aches, try to stay in bed, you know. 65

Take some flu medicine, 66

and then to day three, I couldn't walk. 67

My mom had to carry me to the bathroom. 68

I would have to use the bathroom. 69

I'd have to throw myself off the toilet 70

and lean over the bathtub to throw up. 71

I couldn't walk. 72

My body was weak. 73

It was a good thing she followed through 74

with her instincts and went to the emergency room. 75

I was in a medically-induced coma for nine days. 76

It's not good that it happened, 77

but I'm kinda glad it happened 78

because it changed me as a person. 79

It made me stronger and it made me view 80

my life a lot differently. 81

Rylie also wants those who use tampons 82

to pay attention to what's in them. 83

Just know what it is. 84

Read up on it. 85

Know the symptoms, and I suggest, you know, 86

looking and see what's inside of your tampon, 87

because the ones that I were using, 88

it was all synthetic. 89

There was no cotton in it whatsoever, 90

so make sure you know what you're putting in your body. 91

Know the risks and just be safe. 92

Women can prevent toxic shock syndrome 93

by not forgetting tampons in their vagina. 94

I usually always recommend setting an alarm, 95

so set an alarm for every four hours 96

to try and remove it. 97

Do not sleep with a tampon in place, 98

and do not have sex with a tampon in place. 99

Dawn has turned this tragedy into a mission. 100

Our nonprofit is called Don't Shock Me, 101

the Madalyn Massabni Foundation for Toxic Shock Awareness. 102

I speak everywhere, 103

and I ask girls how many people know about Toxic Shock, 104

and hardly anyone does, 105

and that frightens me. 106

I ask 'em how many of them throw the insert out 107

without even reading it, 108

and every hand goes up. 109

If they're not reading it, how are they learning? 110

We need to change that. 111

She visits schools around New Jersey 112

handing out information to students outlining 113

the dangers of TSS, 114

and is even pushing for legislation on it, 115

Madalyn's Law. 116

Madalyn's Law would require information about TSS 117

be taught in all schools for grades five through 12. 118

It is preventable, 100%. 119

If Maddy made it, she would be doing this herself. 120

She would not stop. 121

Her voice would be heard everywhere, 122

and she would make a difference. 123

(somber music) 124

For InsideEdition.com, I'm Stephanie Officer. 125

(somber music)