FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Master Sgt. Natalia Laughlin is as tough as they come. She’s disciplined, focused and always ready for a challenge. The combat medic has faced more than her fair share of challenges, starting with an injury that landed her at the Joint Base Lewis McChord Soldier Recovery Unit in Tacoma, Wash., where she already called home.

“I worked as a platoon leader in the SRU for two years. It’s a pretty demanding job, and I found that Soldiers would interrupt my training schedule with a lot of problems, so I would have to move my training schedule to earlier in the morning so I could train,” said Laughlin, who always put the Soldiers first, no matter how it changed her schedule.

“Unfortunately, in the great state of Washington, it can be very dark in the mornings in the fall and winter, and I was out jogging in the fall of 2022 and just tripped on the trail. I fell and injured my hip and back, as well as torn a UCL ligament in my hand. All or nothing, right?”

Her injuries were no joke, as the mother of three had to learn to manage her health in her workplace. “It’s come full circle for me because I used to be above these soldiers and now I’m one of them – it gives me a new perspective. I experience it from both sides. It’s been very humbling for me,” Laughlin said.

She focused on the immediate injuries and tried to get back to normal, but challenges remained. “The doctors thought I had broken my hip, but thankfully it wasn’t broken. I had a lot of physiotherapy and they also found that I had tendonitis in my hip as I am an avid runner. I was further assessed after I finished my squad service with the SRU.”

She had an MRI of her back, which showed a swollen kidney. “I had to see a nephrologist and had surgery in July 2023 to repair my kidney. Doctors are not the best patients,” she says, laughing.

She had to get a stent and was out of action for six weeks. “It was a tough battle because after running at 160 km/h all the time, this happened. I had no energy or activity anymore. And just a few days before the kidney operation, I found out from an MRI how badly my hand had been damaged by the fall.”

Laughlin knew she had to fix herself first to be a better mother, leader and soldier, and she admits there were some uncomfortable moments along the way. “Growth never comes from comfort. That’s something I’ve realized in the last year. I certainly haven’t been graceful all this time. I’ve learned and progressed. I’ve learned to take a step back at 40 years old and almost 19 years in the Army and focus on my health.”

As if these challenges weren’t enough, Laughlin says the biggest test of her life this year involved her eldest of three daughters. “My 20-year-old daughter has intractable epilepsy and has been having seizures again during this time. She’s currently in medical school at the University of Washington and we’ve learned she needs brain surgery.”

Physical injuries aside, Laughlin wants to use her story to show her approach to the worsening problems and that seeking help from the SRU is a good thing. “It’s been a brutal year, no joke. I feel like you have to get up every day, and as cliche as it sounds, you have to feel gratitude every day, even if it’s just for the smallest things. I didn’t grow up that way; that’s a skill I learned in the Army.”

She says she and her daughters have a wall of joy in their house, where they put a note on it every day with the smallest joy they feel. “Learn to make it a habit to feel gratitude, even in the darkest moments, the crappiest days or the crappiest years. That will get you through. Even if it just gets you through that one hour – whatever it takes. Find your gratitude.”

Laughlin is grateful for the resources and events the JBLM SRU has offered her to support her recovery. She said she also started individual therapy this year. “I’m an old school soldier. I was there when we had BDUs. Today, it’s a different Army where we promote mental health and prevention (medicine) to make sure you’re strong not just physically, but as a whole.”

Her message to those who suffer in silence? “You don’t have to pull yourself together all the time. It’s exhausting to pretend everything is OK. It’s OK to not be OK and we need to encourage that. It’s hard and makes me feel weak, but I’ve been thinking that way for 20 years and I’m working on it.”

Now that she has experience on both sides of the Army Recovery Care Program, she hopes every soldier will share in her journey and learn from it. “Take advantage of the programs. It’s OK to be weird, sad, and hurt; everyone else is there for a reason. Get involved and be uncomfortable. Just know that it’s OK and this too shall pass. I live by a motto: ‘Tough times pass, tough people do.'”