A Little Girl With a Giant Spirit Captures Hearts at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital

Every day, children facing serious illnesses walk through the doors of The Costas Center at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Doctors and nurses care for young patients battling cancer, blood disorders, and life-threatening conditions. Yet among all those children, five-year-old Lily LaMartina stands out in a way few ever could.

With bright red hair, sparkling eyes, and endless energy packed into her tiny frame, Lily has become a beloved presence throughout the hospital. Nurses smile when they hear her voice in the hallway. Doctors light up when she marches confidently into appointments, greeting staff by name and filling every room with laughter.

“Seeing her makes your day a little bit better,” said Dr. Christopher Hugge, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist who has cared for Lily throughout her journey. “Lily takes positivity to another level.”

For Lily’s mother, Anne LaMartina, the joy surrounding her daughter still feels almost impossible after everything their family has endured.

“How are we so lucky?” she asks with graтιтude and emotion.

A Difficult Diagnosis Before Birth

Lily’s story began long before she entered the world.

During Anne’s 20-week pregnancy ultrasound in December 2012, doctors discovered a serious congenital heart defect. Further genetic testing revealed there was a 95-percent chance Lily would be born with Down syndrome.

For Anne and her family, the news was overwhelming.

Like many parents facing unexpected prenatal diagnoses, they suddenly found themselves navigating fear, uncertainty, and countless medical questions about their baby’s future. But alongside the fear came determination and unconditional love.

When Lily was born, she arrived surrounded by a family ready to fight for her every step of the way.

Open-Heart Surgery at Just One Year Old

At only one year old, Lily underwent major heart surgery at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

The operation, performed by renowned pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Charles Huddleston, successfully repaired the defects doctors had discovered before her birth. For a while, it seemed Lily had already overcome the greatest obstacle she would ever face.

Her family hoped life would finally settle into something more normal.

But another devastating challenge was waiting.

A Limp Leads to a Life-Changing Cancer Diagnosis

In 2016, when Lily was just three years old, her parents noticed she had started walking with a limp.

At first, doctors suspected a bone infection or minor injury. But after further testing, the family received heartbreaking news no parent is ever prepared to hear.

Lily had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer.

The diagnosis instantly changed the family’s world.

Chemotherapy treatments began, and hospital visits quickly became part of daily life. Yet even as she faced needles, medications, and exhausting procedures, Lily’s personality never disappeared.

She remained cheerful, curious, and full of affection.

Doctors and nurses were continually amazed by her ability to bring joy into rooms filled with fear and uncertainty.

A Medical Crisis Nearly Took Her Life

Although Lily responded to treatment, her journey took a terrifying turn two years later.

During chemotherapy, she developed a severe infection that rapidly overwhelmed her body. Her condition deteriorated dramatically. Her kidneys stopped functioning properly. Her lungs struggled to keep up. Infections spread through her skin and muscles.

Lily was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, where doctors fought desperately to save her life.

She spent weeks on a ventilator and required kidney dialysis as her medical team worked around the clock to stabilize her condition.

Dr. Hugge later admitted that Lily’s illness was among the most severe he had ever seen.

“Most patients who are that sick honestly don’t survive,” he explained. “The fact that she is now thriving is truly remarkable.”

For Anne, those days remain etched painfully into memory.

The fear was relentless. The waiting felt endless.

But one thing she remembers most clearly is the constant support from Lily’s medical team.

Compᴀssion Beyond Medicine

Throughout the crisis, Dr. Hugge visited Lily daily — even during periods when chemotherapy had to be paused because her body was too weak to continue treatment.

Anne recalls repeatedly asking the same frightened questions over and over again.

Each time, he answered patiently, as though hearing them for the first time.

Sometimes, she says, the greatest comfort was simply having someone willing to sit beside them in uncertainty.

“That’s something special about Glennon,” Anne explained. “You don’t get that everywhere.”

Nurses also formed deep emotional bonds with Lily and her family during the hardest moments.

One nurse, Brittanie Shetterly — lovingly nicknamed “Bee” by Lily — remembered a particularly emotional day when Lily was exhausted and too weak to play.

“She just sat on my lap and leaned against my chest for an hour,” Brittanie recalled. “Moments like that are why I love my job.”

Slowly Healing and Learning to Live Again

Miraculously, Lily slowly began recovering.

Week by week, her strength returned. She eventually moved out of intensive care and continued rebuilding her health through carefully adjusted chemotherapy treatments.

Doctors had to balance aggressively treating her leukemia while giving her immune system enough time to recover from the devastating infection.

It was a delicate process requiring extraordinary care and precision.

But Lily kept fighting.

Today, she is in the maintenance phase of chemotherapy and thriving once again.

She laughs easily, charms everyone she meets, and has practically turned the hospital into her personal playground.

A Family Celebrates the Smallest Victories

Last summer brought a milestone the LaMartina family once feared they might never experience — Lily’s first family vacation.

At Michigan City, Indiana, Lily swam for the very first time while wearing floaties and grinning nonstop.

For many families, it might seem like a small moment.

For Anne, it felt monumental.

“There were so many firsts for Lily that summer,” she said emotionally.

Looking back on everything her daughter has survived — Down syndrome, heart surgery, leukemia, organ failure, and intensive care — Anne still struggles to fully comprehend it all.

“And she survives it all,” she says softly.

A Little Girl Inspiring Everyone Around Her

Today, Lily LaMartina is more than a patient overcoming impossible odds.

She has become a symbol of resilience, joy, and hope.

Surrounded by her siblings, supported by a hospital staff who feels like extended family, and fueled by her unstoppable spirit, Lily continues to inspire every person fortunate enough to meet her.

Her story is a reminder that strength does not always come in big packages.

Sometimes, it comes wrapped in bright red hair, tiny footsteps, and a smile powerful enough to light up an entire hospital hallway.