Mourners gather near a memorial outside the Village Mall Walk-In Clinic for Dr. Walter Reynolds, who was killed on Monday. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Red Deer mourns slain doctor

Help available during times of grief: CMHA

Aug 11, 2020 | 3:26 PM

Anyone struggling emotionally with the tragic death of a Red Deer doctor is encouraged to reach out for help.

Christine Stewart, Executive Director at CMHA Central Alberta says there are many avenues to take in that respect, acknowledging that everyone grieves differently.

“Whether that’s connecting with your family, hug your kids a little tighter, call someone for support that’s a professional,” she explains. “Don’t normalize this because it’s not normal. It’s impactful and there’s no need to pretend like you don’t need support.”

Stewart points to other local organizations that can also offer support, such as Red Deer Victim Services, Vantage Community Services, and Shalom Counselling Centre.

“The community has a fantastic network of organizations and we definitely can always work together to find the services that meet people’s needs,” suggests Stewart. “When in doubt, call someone and we’ll connect you to the right resources.”

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To speak with a crisis counsellor at CMHA, call 403-304-7662.

Stewart says there are signs to watch out for that might indicate you may have been impacted by the tragedy and not aware of it on a conscious level.

“Shortness of breath, raised heart rate, a heightened sense of anxiety – really listen to your body. Irritability for no good reason or you can’t put your finger on, those types of things are really good signs that maybe you should dig a little deeper and see what’s going on inside yourself.”

Stewart says Monday’s tragedy truly highlights the need for people to be kind to each other.

“The whole world is going through so much as it is. We’ve got the whole COVID versus people who think it’s a joke, we’ve got racial inequality issues, we’ve got politics, and then we have something like this on top of it. It’s very easy for people to get divided on issues right now because tempers are so short.”

Stewart says the current focus should be on showing love to the family of the late Dr. Walter Reynolds at this time.

“Let’s give love to doctors as a whole, and let’s not forget that no matter what happens out there, we were all somebody’s baby once,” remarks Stewart. “We don’t know what kind of trauma has happened in people’s lives to make them respond the way they do. So I think as a whole, we just need to figure out how to help our community as best we can.

“The most important thing right now is to be sympathetic to people’s pain,” continues Stewart. “It’s a horrible situation and it’s not the time to try and draw moral conclusions from what happened here. It’s just time to say, this was awful and what can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again and how can we help this family?”