Growing up in the Bronx, Sgt. Katina Tsahalis always knew that she wanted to help people. She joined the Army and spent five years working in difficult areas. Tsahalis told Pix 11 News that her time in the military gave her many skills that she used to become a physicians' assistant, but it also encouraged her to continue serving others.
"My whole life I've been proud of doing service for people. So in the military I was providing service and now in the medical field that's what I do," veteran Tsahalis told the news source.
Tsahalis recently decided to take her service further by helping other veterans in her area. One of her patients, Rocco Moretto, was a soldier in World War II. He was one of the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
Tsahalis bonded with Moretto while she served as his physicians' assistant. Their friendship inspired Tsahalis to promote social interactions between civilians and veterans. She told the news source that coming back from military service was one of the most difficult things she had ever done because she felt alone and had to deal with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
She hopes that more people will be willing to listen to veterans stories and form friendship like she did with Moretto.