Jeffrey Eichhorn, CP, director of orthotics and prosthetics for Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, was invited to the United Nations on Nov. 16, 2006, to preview a new documentary To Walk Without Fear. In addition to attending the event, Eichhorn was asked to speak about his relationship with the Global Medical Relief Fund and his work to help provide children from all over the world with new prostheses.
To Walk Without Fear profiles triple amputee Kenan Malkic, who at 12 years old stepped on a land mine and became the most injured civilian to survive the Bosnian war. The documentary focuses on Malkic’s life from a child with no hope, to becoming a college senior in New York City with hope and ambition for the future. Malkic now lives and works with Elissa Montanti, the woman who single-handedly brought him to the United States for prosthetic care and founded the Global Medical Relief Fund, a non-governmental organization, in his honor. Together, Malkic and Montanti have provided hope, dignity and empowerment to children around the world.
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Malkic came to the United States in 1997 at age 15 for prostheses and rehabilitation at Shriners Hospitals for Children Philadelphia. Eichhorn has watched Kenan grow into an independent young man, and has served as both a mentor and friend to both Malkic and Montanti throughout the years.
