Kids With Courage: Landon Uthke

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – KTTC is honored to introduce viewers monthly to some of the youngest among us, facing the unthinkable with bravery and optimism. In our 13th “Kids With Courage” segment, Caitlin Alexander introduces us to 13-year-old Landon Uthke of Albert Lea.

Upon meeting Landon, it isn’t hard to guess what he’s into. He walked into his interview with KTTC wearing a Minnesota Wild Sled Hockey shirt. His prosthetic leg was decorated with an array of hockey teams.

“I like to play and watch hockey,” he said. “My favorite team is the Wild and my favorite player’s probably Kaprizov.”

We met up with the Uthke family at Limb Lab in Rochester. A place that reached out to them many years ago when Landon was already tearing up the ice in sled hockey.

“They reached out to us and said hey let’s try to do a standup leg,” said Landon’s father, Kevin.

“We thought we could give him the ability to do more,” said Limb Lab CPO Trent Kerrigan.

Doctors amputated Landon’s left leg after a lawn mower accident when he was three.

He refused to let anything get in the way of his love of sports.

He took up sled hockey.

“You’re sitting in a little bucket sled that’s sitting on two blades and you skate across with a couple picks and arms,” Kevin explained.

Now, Landon plays for both the Rochester Mustangs and Minnesota Wild sled hockey teams.

“Just felt like joy, because like I hadn’t been able to play. So yeah, it just felt like joy,” he recalled.

“He’s made so many good friends and had so many opportunities because of it that he’s just really adapted well,” said Landon’s mother, Petra.

The Minnesota Wild even invited Landon to plant the flag at center ice at one of their games. He even got to log some quality time with his heroes behind the scenes.

“It was fun. I got to meet some of my favorite players. I got to skate with them,” he said.

Landon also has a pretty sharp sense of humor. He pulled a prank in Limb Lab’s office when he came for a check-up, swapping out a team member’s photo with his own.

“So then Landon was part of the Limb Lab family, so that was kind of funny,” laughed Kerrigan.

But Landon has some serious goals too.

“I’d like to play in the Paralympics for Team USA,” Landon said.

That isn’t hard to picture either. Landon is a gold medal Kid With Courage.

If you know a Kid With Courage Caitlin should meet, email her at kidswithcourage@kttc.com.

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