After Uber driver killed on the job family finds solace in other violent crime victims
Tina NelsonIt
Itâs at a bereavement therapy group that meets on the Southwest Side of Chicago  far from her North Shore home  where  Tina Nelson  has found some measure of comfort and validation as  she  copes with  her  sonâs sudden and violent death.
 Grant Nelson  was killed in May while driving for ride-share company Uber. A 16-year-old Chicago girl is accused of attacking him with a knife and a machete that authorities say she had just stolen from a Walmart in Skokie.
Since July   Tina Nelson  has been attending a support group for crime victimsâ families thatâs held each month at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago.
 Tina Nelson  had experienced other losses in recent years. A sister-in-law died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm. And just a month before Grant  another sister-in-law lost a âtorturous battle with cancer.â
But her sonâs death is âa different sphere of experience â  Tina Nelson  said.
âYou have to reconcile the fact that someone chose to take the life of your loved one â said  Tina âs daughter Alex Nelson  who also has been attending the bereavement group. âIt is not a freak accident or illness. Itâs that someone made a conscious choice  and that adds to the grieving process. You are not just mourning the person. You are trying to reconcile the feelings about (the accused)  whether it be forgiveness or anger.â
 Tina  and Alex Nelson spoke with the Tribune on Dec. 4 â what would have been Grantâs 35th birthday â about how the family is coping.  Tina Nelson  describes how  she  finds  herself  daily longing to talk to  him   particularly to tell  him  things  she  knows  he âd find funny.  She  demonstrated how  he  would throw  his  head back when  he  laughed.
 He  had âthe best laugh â  she  said. âI miss  his  laugh.â
â It  has been a lifesaver for my husband and myself â she said. â It âs the camaraderie. You get to know people that walked in your shoes. And no one looks down at you. They are all sympathetic.â
 Tina Nelson  said  she âs found the bereavement group so helpful that  she  was moved to write to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to tell  her . Preckwinkle wrote  her  back to explain that services for the victims of violent crimes and their families are largely supported by federal grant programs.
Itâs at a bereavement therapy group that meets on the Southwest Side of Chicago  far from her North Shore home  where  Tina Nelson  has found some measure of comfort and validation as  she  copes with  her  sonâs sudden and violent death.
 Grant Nelson  was killed in May while driving for ride-share company Uber. A 16-year-old Chicago girl is accused of attacking him with a knife and a machete that authorities say she had just stolen from a Walmart in Skokie.
Since July   Tina Nelson  has been attending a support group for crime victimsâ families thatâs held each month at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago.
 Tina Nelson  had experienced other losses in recent years. A sister-in-law died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm. And just a month before Grant  another sister-in-law lost a âtorturous battle with cancer.â
But her sonâs death is âa different sphere of experience â  Tina Nelson  said.
âYou have to reconcile the fact that someone chose to take the life of your loved one â said  Tina âs daughter Alex Nelson  who also has been attending the bereavement group. âIt is not a freak accident or illness. Itâs that someone made a conscious choice  and that adds to the grieving process. You are not just mourning the person. You are trying to reconcile the feelings about (the accused)  whether it be forgiveness or anger.â
 Tina  and Alex Nelson spoke with the Tribune on Dec. 4 â what would have been Grantâs 35th birthday â about how the family is coping.  Tina Nelson  describes how  she  finds  herself  daily longing to talk to  him   particularly to tell  him  things  she  knows  he âd find funny.  She  demonstrated how  he  would throw  his  head back when  he  laughed.
 He  had âthe best laugh â  she  said. âI miss  his  laugh.â
â It  has been a lifesaver for my husband and myself â she said. â It âs the camaraderie. You get to know people that walked in your shoes. And no one looks down at you. They are all sympathetic.â
 Tina Nelson  said  she âs found the bereavement group so helpful that  she  was moved to write to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to tell  her . Preckwinkle wrote  her  back to explain that services for the victims of violent crimes and their families are largely supported by federal grant programs.