When Keena and Shane Hostetler noticed small bruises on their 22-month-old daughter Natalie’s legs, they didn’t think much of it — until the bruising began spreading up her body within days.
On May 8, 2025, they took Natalie to their pediatrician. After running labs, the doctor returned to the exam room with tears in her eyes. “It’s bad,” she said gently. The results pointed to T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive form of childhood cancer.
A Powerful Promise
Natalie was admitted to Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls that same day. She spent only a short time on the oncology floor before being transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). By the next morning, surgeons had placed both a port and a dialysis catheter to prepare her for urgent treatment.
It was during those first overwhelming hours when Keena felt the love of the Castle of Care. She recalls Ashlee Blumhoff, a nurse practitioner in pediatric hematology and oncology, pulling up a chair beside Keena and Shane. Looking them in the eyes, she said with certainty,
“I can tell you right now, we’ll do whatever we can for Natalie.”
For Keena, those words were a lifeline. “Sanford’s on my side,” she thought.
A Difficult Journey
Natalie spent two weeks at the Castle following her diagnosis, much of that time on a ventilator. Once stable, her care transitioned to an outpatient plan: three years of chemotherapy, every week — and sometimes every other day — because of how aggressive her cancer is.
Even with the best treatment plan, Natalie’s journey has been far from simple. Her first round of chemotherapy triggered a reaction within seconds, requiring her care team to stop the infusion and adjust her regimen. Today, she endures six separate shots to safely receive the same medication.
Since her diagnosis, Natalie has also returned to the hospital three additional times, including once for a blood clot in her arm and neck.
Hope for the Future
Through every setback, Sanford Children’s has been there — guiding, comforting and providing world-class compassionate care. And through it all, Natalie’s family remains steadfast, balancing her medical journey with everyday life, like cheering on her sister Olivia, who started kindergarten this fall.
Most importantly, they cling to the promise spoken in those early days: Sanford is doing everything they can for Natalie.
Give for Healthy Futures
Each year, thousands of kids across our region turn to Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls for unexpected care.
Your support helps give every child the healthy future they deserve. When you give for Sanford Children’s, 100% of every dollar goes directly to kids like Natalie, supporting important services and programs like:
- Child life, school tutoring, spiritual care and other services that are never billed to families
- Financial assistance to help families with the cost of meals, lodging and travel while their child is in the hospital
- Lifesaving pediatric equipment like ventilators, ultrasound machines, Giraffe OmniBeds for NICU infants and more
Together, we can surround children and their families with everything they need to heal, close to home. For Natalie — and thousands like her — your gift means a future filled with hope.