A Texas mum-of-four has been named as one of three Americans who had died from a fungal brain infection after going under the knife for cut-price cosmetic surgery in Mexico.
29-year-old Lauren Robinson died from fungal meningitis on Wednesday, May 31, at Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas.
In her obituary, she was described as a "beloved individual who brought joy and warmth to the lives of those around her."
Lauren is one of three women who have now died from the infection after receiving plastic surgery in the northern Mexico border city of Matamoros.
She went over for surgery in February, but in the months that followed she began experiencing prolonged, severe headaches.
Lauren's husband, Garrett Robinson, told 12News: "She was great, the results were great, everything was good, she started going back to work, then she started constantly telling me 'I have a headache, something is not right'."
The couple went to multiple hospitals in the Galveston area where doctors took spinal fluid and blood samples from Lauren, sending it off for testing. The results came back and she was diagnosed with meningitis.
She spent weeks in hospital, with Garrett sharing regular updates on her various procedures. In her final weeks in hospital, she had four strokes with doctors thinking this was likely due to a fluid build up in her head.
"I can't explain how it feels to go through this, and I can't tell everyone enough, don't do it," Garrett said.
On the day she passed away, Garrett shared a Facebook update saying: "Today has been a very tough day. Calls had to be made again and Lauren had to hae two drains, one for each side of her head due to swelling and build up."
Lauren was described in her obituary as a "devoted and loving mother to her children and stepchildren, treating them as if they were her own."
It went on to say: "Her genuine caring nature and desire to help others made her the go-to person for assistance, and she always sought to make a positive impact on those she encountered.
"Lauren's vibrant personality lit up any room she entered, and she was often the life of the party. Her strong independence was a defining trait that helped shape her character."
She leaves behind children Brayden Cleveland and Braleigh Robinson as well as step children Kennedy and Aysleigh Robinson.
Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning that anyone who was given an epidural anaesthesia, an injection in the spine to numb an area of the body, could be at risk.
This type of anaesthesia is used in surgeries such as liposuction, breast augmentation and Brazilian butt lifts which, in Mexico, can be more than $16,000 (£12,845) cheaper than in the US.
According to the CDC's estimations, more than 200 American citizens who travelled to Matamoros for procedures between January and May 13 could be at risk. They've urged people to go to the nearest emergency room as soon as they can to be checked out, even if they aren't showing any symptoms.
US health boses have also called for the deadly outbreak to be declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Hundreds of patients from across the world and 24 US states were lured by recruiters to the River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3 in Mexico, which have both now been shut down.
The CDC said it's monitoring the condition of 185 more people given the epidural anaesthesia during plastic surgeries carried out since January. But they warn hundreds more may have been impacted due to Mexico's booming medical tourism industry.
Around 1.2 million Americans travel south of the border each year for affordable care, with even more international patients doing the same.
There are fourteen cases of suspected fungal meningitis, an infection of the brain and spinal cord, and 11 probable cases. The infection causes swelling of the protective lining around the brain and spinal cord, known as the meninges.
Once symptoms appear, meningitis can rapidly become life-threatening, warned the CDC.
Test resutls from Mexican authorities, who also asked the WHO to decalre an emergency, set off concerns a deadly fungal outbreak connected to clinics elsewhere in Mexico earlier this year could be repeated. In that outbreak, almost half of all patients diagnosed with meningitis dies.
Of those being monitored, all but 17 are living in Texas with the majority being female. One of the two patients who died was also an organ donor, which could be recipients around the country at risk.
