Chillicothe Man Celebrates Birthday, Holidays After Life-Threatening Wasp Sting

Todd Shannon stays busy during the summer months, working in the food service industry and in lawn care in Chillicothe, Missouri. He was a few weeks shy of his 36th birthday while on a lawn care assignment when he hit a wasp’s nest and was stung on the job.

Todd said he’d been stung before and didn’t think anything of it. This time was different. He collapsed and began foaming at the mouth. His wife was nearby, and rushed Todd to Hedrick Medical Center Emergency Department.

Todd’s recollection of what happened next comes from those around him, as he said he lost multiple days of memory. In the hospital, Todd collapsed again, flat-lining for seven minutes after going into anaphylactic shock due to an allergic reaction to the wasp sting.

“As soon as our ER team determined just how critical Todd's condition was, each individual went above and beyond to provide adequate care,” said Gracie West, RN. “The communication, leadership, and trust within the care team allowed us to work together to achieve our goal of saving Todd's life.”

“While observing Todd's rapid decline in condition, it was clear to the care team that his condition was critical and immediate action was required. The intensity of treatment was high as we had to provide life-saving interventions and quickly transfer him to another hospital to continue his intensive care,” said Gracie.

Todd was air lifted to Saint Luke’s North Hospital, where his stay lasted one week as doctors closely monitored his heart activity.

“I'm so, so thankful to the entire staff there for bringing me back,” Todd says. “From what my family said, everyone was completely professional. Everyone did everything they could to take care of me and my family.”

Todd returned home in time for his birthday, and to celebrate the holidays with his family. He has stress tests to monitor his heart’s function and appointments to monitor his physical progress, but praised the efforts of the Hedrick and Saint Luke’s North teams for bringing him back to life.

“The care the Saint Luke’s team gave me, and the help I got through this experience, receiving an EpiPen, it's easier for me to move forward with less fear,” Todd says.

“I am over the moon with everything they did for me, because I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Saint Luke's.”

Today, Todd is back at home enjoying time with his family and looking forward to the year ahead. He’s thankful that should he or his loved ones ever need emergency care again, the expert team at Hedrick is nearby.