Shriners Hospitals Aids National Guardsman in Effort to Help Child from Kosovo.

SHREVEPORT, La. -- After years of taunting and ridicule from classmates and peers, a young boy from Gjilani, Kosovo, has the chance to walk upright for the first time.

Nine-year-old Lentrit Aliu, who has a birth defect called proximal femoral focal deficiency, underwent surgery last week at Shriners Hospitals for Children -- Shreveport.

Physicians removed a portion of the boy's underdeveloped right leg, which was eight inches shorter than his left. After Lentrit recovers from surgery, doctors at the Shreveport Shriners Hospital will fit him for a prosthetic leg and provide several months of therapy, all at no charge.

Lentrit and his father, Sejdi, arrived in Shreveport last week thanks to a seven-month humanitarian effort coordinated by Staff Sergeant Matthew Malmquist of Bryan, Texas.

While on patrol in Kosovo, SSG Malmquist and fellow members of the Texas Army National Guard saw Sejdi accompanying Lentrit to school. Sejdi told the soldiers his son was intensely ridiculed by his peers, thus requiring him to escort Lentrit in public.

Moved by the family's situation, Malmquist researched orthopaedic hospitals online and found Shriners Hospitals for Children in Shreveport. He contacted the hospital and submitted an online application. On Lentrit's acceptance, Malmquist began raising money for the boy's trip to the U.S., a project spearheaded by his grandmother, Gerry Drewry of Hampton, Minnesota.

Fundraising efforts in Texas and Minnesota quickly raised the $5,000 needed in travel costs for Lentrit and his father.

Word of Lentrit's story and his arrival quickly spread through National Guard units in the Shreveport area, with many guardspeople stopping by the hospital to offer their best wishes through a local volunteer interpreter.

Kim Green, administrator of the Shreveport Shriners Hospital, said the impact of U.S. soldiers abroad is clearly visible in Lentrit's story.

"Lentrit's story is a prime example of the positive impact our armed forces are having on lives worldwide," Green said. "The extraordinary lengths SSG Malmquist and his unit went through to bring this child to Shriners will hopefully shed light not only on their efforts in this part of the world, but also on how one person can make an amazing difference in the life of a child."

Shriners Hospitals for Children is committed to excellence in patient care, research and teaching. An international system of 22 hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Shriners Hospitals provides expert, family-centered care, at no charge. Children under the age of 18 are eligible for treatment of orthopaedic problems, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of financial need or relationship to a Shriner.