Health care workers express grief, anger at vigil for Alex Pretti
Health care workers came together at a vigil Sunday, expressing grief and anger, saying Alex Pretti was killed senselessly.
"I was angry, upset because this could've happened to me. I would've done the exact same thing. I'm a nurse, I help people. If I see someone that needs help, I'm going to help them," Catherine Cheaye said.
Catherine Cheaye was one of about 100 health care workers who all felt the same pain, sorrow and anger at the deadly shooting.
Christa Rymal, a registered nurse and founder of the We Care Nonprofit Foundation, organized the vigil for Pretti's peers at the Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis.
"I was at the capital just last week with about 75 physician leaders and they said the moral injury they're feeling right now in this moment is more intense than they felt during the pandemic," Rymal said.
The vigil included moments of reflection, music and a brief speech by Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
"My heart just sank because he's one of our own," Rymal said. "And I know the world wants to argue who's right or who's righter, and I just saw the nurse in him. I don't even care about all the rest. I really don't. I saw his nursing heart."
For some, like 24-year-old James Cheaye, he came along with his mother, Catherine Cheaye, because he's felt more anxious in the later parts of his young life.
"It always has to happen in Minnesota, which is always just really sad and really scary. So it was just really impactful to see someone trying to help other people and, unfortunately, lost their lives because of it," James Cheaye said.
"He's young and this affects everyone," his mom, Catherine Cheaye, added. "And if there was injustice for one individual group, it could lead to everybody. So, for us to make change, everyone has to speak up, even though it doesn't affect me personally."
We Care's mission is to take care of health care professionals and, right now, grieving and processing Pretti's death is at the top of their list.
"Sometimes moments like this feel really long, but what I can tell you as a nurse is life is a really short ride, and I've held a lot of hands at the end of life," Rymal said. "We are far more alike than we are different at the end of our life. So if we could actually live that way, wouldn't that be powerful?"