Adorable Alma | Arkansas Children's

Two-year-old Alma Martinez is a few months out from finishing more than a dozen rounds of chemotherapy for a rare cancer, and now she is bouncing off the walls at home in Glenwood.

In July 2025, Alma had a growth in her nose. When a pediatrician first examined it, he thought it was just a pimple.

After a week of ointment failed to clear the spot, the area began to swell. The pediatrician referred Alma to a local ENT, who suspected a cyst and scheduled a surgical removal.

What was supposed to be a thirty-minute procedure stretched into a two-and-a-half-hour operation. Lab analysis of the removed tissue revealed a frightening reality: Alma had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of tissue cancer.

The walnut-sized growth measured four centimeters wide, yet medical imaging showed it had not spread to other parts of her body. Alma was referred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital for care.

Walking through the hospital doors brought an immediate wave of anxiety for Bertha, mixed with an unexpected sense of calm once she met the medical staff.

“God knows what he’s doing, and he put us here for a reason.”

Over the next year, Alma spent time in and out of the hospital for treatment. One of the hardest milestones for her parents was the surgical implantation of a chemotherapy port.

Hospital nurses walked the family through the procedure step by step, explaining how the line delivered medicine safely toward the heart. That transparent communication eased the family’s fears during an overwhelming time.

The treatments took a heavy physical toll. Alma lost all of her hair and dropped about eight pounds during the course of her therapy.

Yet her recovery moved at a startling pace once treatment concluded. She regained her weight in about a month and a half, and her hair began regrowing far faster than her doctors anticipated.

In July of this year, surrounded by family, friends, and members of her care team, Alma celebrated the end of her cancer journey by ringing the traditional department bell amid balloons and cake.

Emily, a social worker at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, had once said that Alma’s vibrant personality made her look like the children whose photographs decorate the exterior of the Arkansas Children’s Golisano Campus buildings.

“Every time they see her, it’s always with a smile.”

Bertha said, describing how nurses light up when Alma visits the clinic.

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