Natalie Sue Teegerstrom Schlegelmilch

Natalie Sue was born on October 28, 1978 to Pete (Quintin) and Sandi (Krumbach) Teegerstrom and big sister Toe (Celeste). As per instructions from Doctor Brouillette, she arrived five minutes after the Nebraska-Oklahoma State football game. She was baptized at the Salem Lutheran Church in Stromsburg, Nebraska. Natalie became the middle child upon arrival of little sister Ashley. Remarkably, she did not talk until she was three, and after that, she never stopped.

She attended Willard Elementary school, York Middle and High School where she played legion softball, was active in 4H, and was a cheerleader. Throughout high school and college, Natalie worked at Amigos where she developed a lasting love for the crisp meat burrito and cheesy pinto. Natalie first attended Northeast Community College in Norfolk and later transferred to Southeast Community College in Lincoln and earned a degree as a Medical Assistant. Natalie worked at York Medical Clinic for over nine years where she enjoyed being surrounded by and caring for others. In 2009, Natalie became the office manager at Agri-Products. She was an integral part of the business and would remark with pride that her job was to keep the guys in line.

In 1996, Natalie started dating Corey Schlegelmilch, and her passion for dirt bikes and heavy metal music began. On September 16, 2000 Natalie and Corey were united in marriage at the First Lutheran Church in York. They made their home on an acreage southwest of Benedict.

Dietrich John arrived on June 12, 2008 and being a mother became her life’s greatest joy. Natalie and Dietrich shared a fondness for chatting, shopping and Lego’s.

In May 2011, Natalie was diagnosed with a exosketal myxoid chondrasarcoma, which is a type of sarcoma that ended up as a mass in her leg and was successfully removed through surgical intervention. She turned her diagnosis into a positive by raising awareness for sarcoma and cancer research. She was involved in Relay for Life, Cancer Plus support group and was a solid source of support for many fighting a similar battle.

Natalie had many clean check-ups in the following two years, until June 2013 when they found a spot in her lung where the original cancer had metastasized. In July, Natalie had this spot successfully removed through surgical intervention as well. In the past few months, Natalie has received some new diagnoses regarding her cancer, including some new spots in her spine and pelvis that have been causing her a great deal of discomfort. Recently, there has been a concern that she has a new mass in one of her kidneys. On Wed 11/13/13, Natalie had a rapid onset of new neurological symptoms, and was flown by helicopter to UMNC for further care. The doctors found a large tumor in Natalie's brain that is causing these new symptoms. She is currently undergoing surgery to have the tumor removed. The concern is that the tumor in her brain may be related to a completely different type of cancer, other than her original sarcoma.

On November 14th 2013 Natalie had a successful surgery this morning. Dr. Aizenberg, the neurosurgeon, was able to remove the tumor.

On December 6th 2013 After 24 days at UNMC Natalie was transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln where she was to being the long process of learning how to do most things all over again. Except for talking, we all know she had that mastered already!
On December 18th 2013 Natalie was transferred back to UNMC. She had been experiencing some abdominal pain and they took her first from Madonna to Bryan LGH East to check her out. There they did scans and made the decision to start chemo.
On December 21st 2013 After experiencing significant side effects to chemo and careful monitoring it was determined that the benefits of the therapy were not outweighing the costs to her system. On Friday evening, Natalie was transported home to York General Hospital where she will remain under the care of hospice.

On February 21st 2014 The world lost a beautiful spirit as we said goodbye to our beloved Natalie. Natalie touched the lives of many in her time on earth., She will continue to do so from above. We can all strive to be more like Natalie or as we like to say “get our Nat on”.