LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A Lincolnton boy was laid to rest Tuesday morning after a long battle with an extremely rare form of dwarfism.
Channel 9 first introduced you to Landen Johnson two and a half years ago. He lived with primordial dwarfism for all of his nine years -- something only about a dozen people in the world have.
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[PRAYING FOR LANDEN: Click here to visit Landen's Facebook page]
[LINK: Read more about Landen's journey]
Landen died on Friday at Levine's Children Hospital, but not without touching hundreds of thousands of lives across at least 10 countries.
People around the world followed Landen's journey online.
“Landen's impacted more people in his nine years on the Earth than I probably will in my lifetime, probably many times over,” said the boy’s father, Luke Johnson.
(Landen Johnson)
Luke opened up to Channel 9 about Landen's strong faith, and his upbeat attitude, despite his uphill battle.
“He was very open about his faith, even when things got hard, Landen never complained. He always thought of others, was always concerned for others. Even up till his last few weeks he was concerned for other people,” Luke Johnson said. “He taught me to put others first ... enjoy life, have a sense of humor -- Landen loved to joke -- and be determined, be courageous. He fought a long time, and he had a lot of courage, and I hope I can be as courageous as my son was.”
>> WATCH BELOW for the entire interview with Landen’s father, Luke Johnson.
Luke Johnson also spoke about how close their family was, in spite of the difficult circumstances.
“Outside of Jesus, Landen loved his momma,” Luke Johnson told Channel 9. “You ask Landen, ‘Who's your favorite nurse?’ Momma is. The only time he ever brought up heaven with his momma was he just told his momma he was gonna miss her. I walked into the room, and he was consoling his momma.”
Landen's burial was private, but there was a procession from the New Vision Ministries Church on Clark Creek Road in Lincolnton.