At left, Holly Todd, a graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, the day she was stung by a bee while on a mission trip to Haiti in February 2014. The sting triggered a yearlong battle later identified as Dysautonomia, a disorder that affect the autonomic nervous system. At right, Todd pictured following surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester after her diagnosis. Submitted photos

Holly Todd’s life will forever be defined by a bee sting.

For better, the incident in February 2014 helped her find her true passion in running and helping others. Yet for worse, it brought her within inches of death and plenty of emotional and physical scarring.

Though through all of it Todd, a native of Warsaw and graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, feels lucky to be alive.

“I hate to have this but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Todd said. “I just want to be able to tell people my story and help them.”

Todd graduated in 2009 with bachelor’s degree in history from SUNY Fredonia, though she knew it wouldn’t get her far. She originally planned to go to college for biology to jump-start a career in medicine. However, she figured she would be miserable in that field so — like many wayward college students do — she changed course.

Todd pictured following a half-marathon. Submitted photo

Without a true full-time job, Todd went on a mission trip through the Warsaw Valley Chapel to Haiti in February 2014 to help build a home for a widow. It wasn’t her first mission trip, and she figured helping others elsewhere in the world was better than doing nothing at home.

“My friend playfully told me I should tag along on the trip,” Todd said. “I told her I wanted to go — I wanted to volunteer.”

One day while clearing land Todd was stung by a bee. She had been stung plenty of times in the past, but almost immediately she knew something was wrong this time. Todd said she felt light-headed and was instructed to lay down and put her feet in the air.

Todd was given saline while members of her church prayed for a quick recovery.

However, once back home Todd said her problems persisted. She had headaches, felt nauseous and was generally tired all the time. Her boss finally convinced her to see a doctor, though her blood work only came back “slightly abnormal.”

Her mystery illness only worsened. Because she couldn’t keep any food down, Todd began losing an alarming amount of weight. One doctor suggested she might have Hepatitis A. Another hinted that she had developed an eating disorder that accounted for the rapid weight loss.

“Nothing would explain what was going on,” Todd said. “I was losing more and more weight.”

More than once she ended up in the emergency room, one time for heart palpitations. There, the doctor suggested she had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from her time in Haiti combined with bulimia.

“On Feb. 1 I was fat, the next day (after the sting) I wasn’t normal,” Todd said of the sudden change. “I’m not who I was. I still can’t eat like a normal person.”

Almost a year after Todd was stung in Haiti, her weight dropped from 275 pounds to 104. In December 2015, Todd once again found herself in the emergency room, this time Buffalo General Hospital. She promised herself this would be the last time she visited an ER.

While at the hospital, a friend asked if it would be OK to set up a Go Fund Me account to help pay for the $5,000 fee to get into the Mayo Clinic. By the time she left Buffalo General word had spread and the fundraiser had already raised the money needed to see a specialist at the Minnesota medical center.

“Unbeknownst to me a friend had already called the Mayo Clinic and got me in,” Todd said, noting that she was “shocked” by the amount of money raised in just a few hours.

Todd’s insurance wouldn’t cover the costs of treatment and she was already on Medicaid. “The Mayo Clinic wanted to be paid in advance,” she said. “This wasn’t something that we could afford. I felt very fortunate to have great friends.”

Once in Minnesota, Todd was told if a diagnosis wasn’t discovered immediately she would likely have three to six months to live due to her deteriorating condition.

“I was freaked out,” she said. “I was nervous. I prayed to God that if this was my time I was at peace with it since I could die at any time.”

However, unlike the countless doctors back home, it didn’t take the specialists long to zero in on Todd’s mystery illness. A few tests — one being a tilt table test to pinpoint the cause of her fainting spells — eventually confirmed she had Dysautonomia, a disorder that affect the autonomic nervous system.

Though not sure why, doctors told Todd the bee sting in Haiti triggered a response in her body that impacted her nervous system. She underwent surgery to have a feeding tube placed to get her weight stabilized and later received transfusions to help with her weakened immune system.

“It was absolutely crazy,” she said of finding a diagnosis while at the lowest moment of her life.

See tomorrow’s edition of The Sunday Post-Journal for complete coverage.