Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 1, 1991                   TAG: 9104010239
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                                LENGTH: Medium

WOUNDED SOLDIER SAYS SHE'S GOT A SECOND CHANCE

Tina R. Garrett, a 25-year-old Army combat medic, said she did not scream when shrapnel from an Iraqi mine tore into her left side.

"I was afraid to pass out," she said. "I was afraid if I passed out, I wouldn't wake up."

Then came the words of comfort offered by her unit commander. "Don't worry, you'll be all right," he said. "You've just gotten yourself a Purple Heart."

A few days later, his prophecy proved true. Garrett, one of the first women to be wounded in the war, was decorated for her valor.

She's proud of her Purple Heart, happy that she's alive to tell the story.

But if you ask her, Garrett will tell you she's prouder of another heart - the Valentine's card her 4-year-old daughter, Kristina, sent her while she was at war. Garrett had to leave Kristina with her parents, Shirley and Raymond Garrett.

"I know for a fact that God was with me, and I feel like he's given me a second chance to be the mother I haven't had the opportunity to be in the first four years of her life," she said. "I do plan to take advantage of that chance, believe me."

Garrett will have at least three weeks of convalescent leave to get reacquainted with her daughter. She must spend part of that time in physical therapy at Portsmouth Naval Hospital.

Her left arm is still swathed in bandages, and she limps slightly from shrapnel wounds to her leg. At the end of three weeks, doctors will determine whether she can return to active duty or whether her days in the military are over.

But for now, she's free to play Nintendo with Kristina. She returned home Sunday morning in time to enjoy Easter with the little girl who greeted her dressed in blue lace, blue ribbons in her hair.