Fort Hood victim recovering in Minn.

OTSEGO, Minn. (CNN) - A day before her anticipated mission to Iraq, Army Reservist Keara Bono-Torkelson would unexpectedly begin her own battle back home.

Shot in the head and the back, Bono-Torkelson is one of 31 others who are recovering from their injuries and survived the mass shooting at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009.

Bono-Torkelson said she was just feet from the suspected shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan, when he fired away at her and everybody else who was processing paperwork for active duty to Iraq.

"You could see his face, eyes, and the lasers on his weapons, the smoke, the smell, everything," recalled Bono-Torkelson. "There's just...it was really surreal."

It is a story she has retold countless times to family and friends since she has been home and in between doctors visits. Since the shooting, she suffers from terrible headaches which happen daily and can be triggered by nearly anything. She is not sure if they are caused by the painful memories of that day, or from the wounds she suffered.

"I'd like it all to go away, just like my daily headaches, I'd love for those to go away, but it's a process," said Bono-Torkelson.

Part of that process includes continued service. She remains a reservist with the Army in Minnesota. She plans to fulfill the two years left of her six-year commitment to the military. She has every intention to take away as much as she can from something that took away so much.

"It was very selfish what he did, and kind of ruined my plans for the next year, but God doesn't give us anything we can't handle," said Bono-Torkelson.

Because of the shooting, somebody else went to Iraq instead of Bono-Torkelson and consequently she did not earn her active-duty status. As a result, some of her doctor visits, which include a trip to the chiropractor three times a week, are not included under her current medical coverage.

It is also Bono-Torkelson's understand that, unless the shooting is deemed an act of terrorism, she will not be qualified to earn a military medal.