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By John M. Rosenberg
Warrior Transition Command
WEST POINT, N.Y. (June 16, 2016) – U.S. Army Veteran Staff Sgt. Megan Grudzinski excels as a distance runner. Given the multiplicity of events associated with track it is important for her to approach each race differently. In order to help her to remain focused she has adopted her very own credo— “run fast, long and strong.”
On a sunshine- filled day of track competition at West Point’s Shea Stadium, Grudzinski remained true to her credo, wowing the crowd in winning three gold medals and breaking three Warrior Games records as a member of Team Army. What’s especially remarkable is that Grudzinski was selected as an alternate participant at the conclusion of the Army Trials four months earlier.
Competing in her first Warrior Games, Grudzinski takes a similar approach to her other sporting activities, swimming and cycling.
Hailing from Strongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Grudzinski comes from a family with a tradition of military service, among them being her father, who served in the Army, as well as her grandfather, a WWII Veteran.
Grudzinski, however, is the first female member of her family to have served in the military. She recalls with great fondness exchanging notes with her grandfather who, like Grudzinski, also attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, a half- century earlier.
Upon completion of a deployment to southern Afghanistan, where she served as a chemical specialist, Grudzinski returned stateside.
At first everything seemed fine. “I came back and there was this honeymoon period where you’re hyped to be home,” said Grudzinski. However, the months of reuniting with family and friends, the endless celebrations, eventually gave way to normal routine. All along she had realized that something wasn’t quite right. She had trouble sleeping and suffered bad dreams, but Grudzinski wrote them off as just a continuation of her period of adjustment.
It was then she discovered that she had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Though she had finally sought help, Grudzinski experienced an all too common problem of many wounded, ill and injured Soldiers. “Here I am, I have no visible injuries and kind of felt embarrassed,” said Grudzinski. “Why do I need help? My body is intact and I felt so lucky. This made me feel even worse. I almost felt like I wasn’t worthy of help. I got to the point where I was waking up in the night screaming.”
“I think the hardest thing I ever did was ask for help,” said Grudzinski.
One way in which she began to deal with her PTSD was via exercise. Already an avid runner, she participated in 5Ks and soon noticed that she was feeling better.
Through a posting on Facebook Grudzinski became aware of Army Trials. When the 2016 Army Trials were approaching she thought to herself “this would be awesome.” Upon receiving a formal invitation to try out at Fort Bliss, Texas, for an opportunity to compete at Warrior Games, Grudzinski jumped at the chance.
“It’s made a huge difference, in just this short time since Trials, I feel much better and can socialize easier,” Grudzinski said. “In addition to running, I got into swimming and cycling. So it’s pretty neat. Pretty fun.”
Grudzinski also credits adaptive sports with elevating her self-esteem. “A lot of times you think ‘well I’m not good enough,’ and then you make the team,” she said. “It makes you feel good about yourself. And cycling… it’s kind of exciting to do things you’ve never done.”
“Adaptive sports too, I believe, helps you in achieving your career goals,” she said. “You learn to be coachable, take constructive criticism.”
For the longest time, Grudzinski says she had a hard time leaving her house. Then she got matched up with a black Labrador Retriever service dog that she named Harley. “Having her, when I’m struggling at night… she will come up and lay on me,” said Grudzinski. “She helps with my anxiety. She will pick up on it too when other Soldiers are feeling anxious and go comfort them.”
With ambitions of pursuing a doctorate in nursing, Grudzinski is proud of her many accomplishments since returning home from Afghanistan. Fittingly, the resident of Strongsville said her path to recovery “makes me realize how strong I truly am.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2016 18:19 |
| Story ID: | 202001 |
| Location: | WEST POINT, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 498 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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