Five-year-old “Landen” is concluding a remarkable recovery after being hurled from a Mall of America balcony.
Would-be murderer Emmanuel Aranda told authorities he was “looking for someone to kill,” but it “didn’t work out.” Now, the victim of that botched attempt has recovered enough to leave even his limp behind.
Landen captured countless hearts on the internet, as his fight for survival in the aftermath of the 39-foot fall from a high balcony in the famous Bloomington, Minnesota, shopping center gained traction on social media. After being admitted in April, Landen remained in the Intensive Care Unit until the beginning of August.
One month later, he finally made it back home — but far from unscathed. Landen still had “a limp and uneven legs from a two-time broken femur, [and] an open wound on his belly we were taking care of every night,” Landen’s family said in a status update posted to the GoFundMe page used to raise over $1,000,000 in aid.
These days, Landen is doing even better: “When his mommy asks him if she can look at his wound or asks how he’s doing, he always responds with ‘Mom, I’m healed, you don’t need to ask me anymore,’” according to the aforementioned update.
“He loves being back to school and going to kindergarten at the same school his twin brother and sister go to,” the family said in the post. “He gets out of the car every morning happy and blows kisses all the way in! He’s a strong, happy boy.”
