In July, Matthew and Diane Schiefferly of Napa received news no parent wants to get. Their 4-year-old daughter, Natalie, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“It’s the phone call from the pediatrician that you never want to hear. … You go racing around and right away, the first thought is of life or death,” said Natalie’s mother.

But, she added, “quickly after we got to UCSF, they helped us to see that it’s a curable cancer.”

Matthew Schiefferly, Natalie’s father, said before his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, she did not display symptoms typical of the disease, such as bruising or nose bleeds.

“(Natalie) was running a fever and was a little bit under the weather. She was tired,” he said, adding that it was a blood test taken after Natalie experienced pain in her ankle that confirmed the leukemia diagnosis.

“It was terrifying as a parent,” he said. “We had no real experience with leukemia, and the pediatrician tells you they think your child needs leukemia (treatments) and they need to go to UCSF. … You automatically think the worst. It turned out that the form of leukemia that she has is very curable and has a high success rate. ... Still, it’s not a disease that’s 100 percent curable. It’s a scary experience.”

Natalie, four months into her 26-month long treatment process, makes many trips to UCSF for chemotherapy.

Diane Schiefferly said her daughter, now 5, is doing well most of the time. “Day to day, she is doing great. The doctors say kids do much better than adults with chemo. The days she doesn’t feel great, she hangs out on the couch.

“Except for the bald head,” said Diane Schiefferly, “you wouldn’t know she’s sick.”

Sunflowers vs. weeds

Natalie’s father said although his daughter has many days when she feels well, Natalie must steer clear of public venues such as stores and restaurants because her body’s ability to fight infection is compromised.

Dr. Sarah Tasian, a pediatric hematology oncology specialist at UCSF Medical Center, has treated Natalie since her diagnosis in July. Tasian said acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also called ALL, “is a childhood leukemia that is an abnormal proliferation of immature white blood cells, or lymphoblasts.”

Tasian said Natalie takes medicine orally, intravenously and by route of her spinal fluid. Natalie also has regular blood tests to check for red, white and platelet blood cell counts and bone marrow tests when necessary, she said.

“Overall, she’s been very brave. We have a story we tell about sunflowers because that’s her favorite flower. We say leukemia is like the weeds that are growing and getting in the way of her sunflowers, and the medicine helps the sunflowers grow. ... She has a very good attitude,” Tasian said.

Carol Woodiwiss, a teacher at Hopper Creek Montessori School in Napa, which Natalie attended before her illness, echoed Tasian’s comments. “The way she’s dealt with this sickness — she’s just so brave and everything she’s had to go through has not changed that caring, wonderful little spirit she has.”

Nicole Hamilton, a student and cheerleader at Justin-Siena High School who used to babysit Natalie, said Natalie attended Justin-Siena High School’s cheer clinic last year. Since Natalie wasn’t able to attend this year due to illness, Hamilton said, she and six other Justin-Siena cheerleaders paid her a visit in September. “We taught her cheers and showed her what she missed. She was having a lot of fun,” Hamilton said. Along with other cheerleaders at Justin-Siena, Hamilton is helping to sell tickets for a quilt raffle to support research into the disease that struck Natalie.

The raffle isn’t the Schiefferly's first fundraising effort for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Natalie’s father said that in August, the family organized and hosted a “haircut fundraiser,” raising approximately $2,000 for the organization. To show their support for Natalie, he said, more than 40 people attended and shaved their heads.

Two months later, the quilt raffle has already brought in $10,000, he said, with another week of sales to go.

In the meantime, Diane Schiefferly has some advice for parents faced with serious diagnoses like Natalie’s. “Trust the doctors. And if you don’t trust the doctors, find one that you do. Reach out to other families who have been through it. ... It’s too overwhelming to think long-term. Deal with the issue in front of you right now.”