At just four years old, Eli Belser’s world began to shift in ways no child—or parent—could ever anticipate. Around the time his parents, Marcus and Katie, welcomed their fifth child, Eli started showing signs of fatigue. At first, the family attributed it to the bustling energy and adjustments of a new sibling in the house. But as days passed, it became painfully clear that something was not right.

“We took it as there’s a new baby in the house,” Katie recalls. “Then we realized that he was in pain at times. And obviously, a 4-year-old should not be in pain.”

Their search for answers began with visits to a local clinic, a chiropractor, and Eli’s pediatrician, yet the concern lingered and the boy’s condition worsened. When the family was finally referred to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Eli’s symptoms had declined significantly. Katie remembers the sense of urgency vividly: “I called his pediatrician, and he told us to take him straight down to the emergency room, not to wait. And so that’s what we did.”

Initially, Eli’s symptoms seemed to mimic a rare bone disease called chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, or CRMO. Treatments began, but the expected improvement never came. “At a normal appointment for his CRMO treatment, we told them something still didn’t seem right,” Katie explains. “The rheumatology department didn’t hesitate for a minute to dig deeper. He was having a lot of abdomen pain that day, so they did just an abdominal MRI—and that’s when they found the mass. We would soon find out that Eli actually had stage 4 neuroblastoma, high-risk.”

The diagnosis was devastating. The tumor, located behind Eli’s kidney, pressed against major arteries and his spine, causing the pain that had initially seemed inexplicable. What followed was a grueling journey of treatment: multiple rounds of chemotherapy, tumor-removal surgery, a stem cell harvest, two back-to-back stem cell transplants, radiation, and immunotherapy.

“The chemo wiped out all of his blood cells,” Marcus recalls. “And that is where the stem transplant comes in, to replace those cells.”

Part of this intense treatment coincided with the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospital visitor restrictions added another layer of difficulty. For Eli, simply getting out of bed became a monumental challenge. Yet even in these moments, Marcus and Katie found ways to lift his spirits. They loaded their other children into the family van and parked outside Eli’s hospital window. Katie remembers the scene with tears in her eyes: “I made a sign for the window, and I remember my husband pulled up, and I saw the van and thought, ‘Eli, your siblings are outside.’ Once he got to see his siblings for a little bit… I feel like it went up from there.”

Amidst the harsh realities of treatment, moments of joy broke through. Just weeks before his transplant, Eli received permission to participate in a wrestling tournament—a dream he had long held. “We knew that was potentially his only chance to be able to wrestle in a tournament,” Katie says. Not only did Eli compete, but he emerged victorious, winning first place. “He was on cloud nine, walking through the hall lifting his trophy over his head.”

Throughout his journey, the family has been profoundly grateful for the care team at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “You feel like you never want to be there, under any circumstance, but if you absolutely have to, we were so grateful that we were there,” Katie says. “They took all our concerns seriously, and they really addressed them with each other. They were just great.”

Today, Eli’s resilience shines brighter than ever. Now seven years old, he has been in remission for two years and is a second-grader with a newfound passion for fishing. Though he still tires more easily than his peers, Katie marvels at his energy and spirit: “Eli gives it his all, all the time. You would never in a million years think this kid ever went through treatment or had cancer in his life. He looks great, and usually has a smile on his face.”

Eli’s story is more than a tale of survival—it is a testament to hope, perseverance, and the extraordinary strength of a young child and his family. From the frightening uncertainty of a devastating diagnosis to the quiet triumphs of everyday life, Eli’s journey reminds us all of the power of love, courage, and unwavering determination.

Through every painful treatment, every long hospital stay, and every moment of doubt, the Belser family held fast to hope. And now, as Eli casts his line into the water, a fishing rod in hand, he is not only catching fish—he is catching life itself, savoring every joyful, ordinary moment that comes his way.

Albert, the Little Lionheart: A Journey of