Carol Paredes had always felt self-conscious about her B-cup breasts.
So, when her former boyfriend said she would look 'perfect' if she had implants, the then 42-year-old leapt at the suggestion.
The Miami native paid $4,800 for the procedure in 2016 after finding a surgeon who she believed was 'highly recommended'.
She was at first thrilled with the results, although admitted the 34D implants were larger than the C-cup she had expected, and she could feel the implant on one side, making her concerned it had been placed wrong.
However, she went on with her life not seriously second guessing anything until five years later when Paredes suddenly started to suffer from mysterious complications so severe that she thought she might die.
She developed a constant stabbing pain in her groin, before being diagnosed with arthritis in both hips -- eventually leading the fitness trainer, who once led online classes, to need a wheelchair.
Doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as 'stress' or told her it was 'all in your head.' Feeling alone, she tried different diets, alternative therapies and, at one point, even drank her own urine in desperate attempts to alleviate her symptoms.
It wasn't until physicians ordered scans that the real cause was revealed: Her right breast implant had ruptured and was leaking silicone into her body.
Paredes, who is now 52, may have been suffering from breast implant illness (BII), her body reacting to the implants and the leaking silicone.
Paredes said: 'It was the scariest thing of my life. I didn't think I was going to make it through. And the fact that no doctor could tell me what was wrong made it even more terrifying.
'I was a fitness coach. A health freak. I did everything "right". But this nearly cost me my life.'
She added: 'To every woman reading this: Don't let society make you believe you're not beautiful. You are enough. You don't need fixing, you need truth.
'I almost died trying to fit into a mold created by this toxic culture. Now, I live to tell the truth. Breast implants are NOT worth your life.'
BII is a non-medical term used to describe a collection of nonspecific symptoms that emerges in some women after they receive a silicone or saline-filled implant.
It may happen in women whose implant has ruptured or those whose is still in tact but their body still has an immune system reaction to it.
Warning signs include joint pain, fatigue, muscle weakness and skin rashes. Some patients say symptoms resolve after the implants are removed.
Breast implants are one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries in the US, with about 300,000 procedures performed every year. Of these, estimates suggest up to one in 10 patients may suffer from BII.
Paredes first started to suffer from the pain in her groin in 2021, describing it as like a knife 'being stuck in or twisted there'.
'There was no position or movement that could relieve it,' she said, 'it was a relentless, daily struggle'.
The mother-of-one, now 52 years old, said one of her breast implants ruptured, prompting silicone to leak into her body. It led to excruciating pain and eventually she needed to use a wheelchair.
She saw several doctors and went through a battery of tests but got no answers as to the cause of her pain -- while it only worsened.
It was then that she was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips, leaving her struggling to work.
'It became a living nightmare with no way out,' she said. 'I was told over and over that they had "never seen a case" like mine'.
'It made me feel completely helpless. I thought this was the end.'
It was not until she visited a chiropractor that someone suggested the implants could be the cause.
After that, she went back to her surgeon and demanded an MRI, which was ordered and revealed her right implant had ruptured.
Surgeons said it was an emergency and immediately rushed her in to have the implants removed in December 2022.
It was not clear how the implant ruptured or why the rupture may have caused pain in her groin and hips, but a previous study suggests that silicone leaking from implants can be carried around the body in the lymph system or bloodstream, which can lead to symptoms in other areas.
Paredes was relieved to have the implants out, but then, two weeks after surgery, she developed a post-operative infection.
It was treated with antibiotics, but her health ordeal was not over yet.
Shortly after her breast implants were removed, Paredes went to a chiropractor who, she claims, dislocated both her legs.
This put her in 24/7 excruciating pain so intense she could not sleep. She lost her job and struggled to stand without crutches. Eventually she had to use a wheelchair again.
In May and August 2023, she underwent two operations to replace her hips.
Doctors then diagnosed an aneurysm in her aorta, an abnormal bulge in the main artery carrying blood from the heart. If it ruptures, a person can suffer catastrophic bleeding and die.
It was not clear what caused the bulge, but it could have been linked to the breast infection or inflammation caused by the leaking silicone.
In 2024, she underwent open-heart surgery to have the aneurysm repaired.
Through all of this, Paredes had no health insurance and said she had to sell her parents' apartment and most of her possessions to cover the costs.
Paredes is now more than $15,000 in debt and said that over the years she has had to rely on her son for support.
Now, she is revealing her story to warn other women over the dangers of breast implants.
'I lost five years of life as well as plunging myself into debt. If you've got a mysterious illness after having implants; get them removed.'
'I didn't know what was happening to me until it was almost too late. Don't risk your life trying to be perfect. There's no such thing.'