Champion of the Month: Landon
Like most ten-year-old kids, Landon enjoys playing video games (Minecraft is his favorite), reading and swimming. But unlike most kids his age, Landon has spent countless hours attending to his medical needs as a result of his Muscular Dystrophy diagnosis.
Throughout his young life, Landon has experienced multiple medical appointments and medical tests including EKGs, echocardiograms, bone density scans, blood work, and pulmonary exams.
Yet Landon approaches his medical challenges the way he approaches just about everything in life: with an equal mixture of realism and optimism. “He doesn’t really complain about anything hardly at all,” shares his mom, Beth. “He just accepts everything in life the way it is. I would describe him as ‘go with the flow.’”
But Landon does more than simply go with the flow. He actively considers alternative view points and encourages others to alter their perspective to cope with challenges or stressors. “If I ever get frustrated or impatient about something,” explains his mom, “Landon always says ‘Well, what about…?’ and then brings up a different point of view.”
You can also add “humble and accomplished” to the list of adjectives to describe Landon. Landon came in first place out of the entire 4th grade in a math competition at his school. “And he didn’t even brag about it,” shares his mom. “I found out from his teacher because he didn’t even tell me!”
For this interview, Landon’s mom Beth asked him what he would like to share with others about himself. “He said he has Muscular Dystrophy,” Beth explains. “I asked him, ‘Other than that?’ and he responded, ‘Why? That’s cool!’ I can’t really sum him up any better than that.”
Beth first learned about Better2gether through her participation in the Moments Support Group, a Better2gether resource designed to support the unique challenges faced by parents of children with medically complex illnesses. She and Landon look forward to participating in future events and connecting with other local families in the community.
