(WXYZ) — A local nurse is rehearsing before she sings during a COVID memorial ceremony in Washington. The nurse went viral after video showed her singing to her coworkers as they fought the first wave of COVID cases.
Lori Key captivated millions with her rendition of "Amazing Grace" as she sang to her coworkers at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, battling the pandemic on the frontlines. Now she’ll sing at a national memorial for the hundreds of thousands who’ve died from COVID-19.
“To be a part of something of history, I’m just so humbled,” Key said.
The metro Detroit woman will be part of a nationwide memorial as the nation remembers those who’ve lost their life to the coronavirus.
“It’s going to be very emotional," she said. "I’m going to feel a lot of emotions. Fear, when we didn’t know if our patient was going to make it through our shift, love and compassion of us working together with our health care workers and just those two alone."
The memorial will have 400 lights around the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool to honor American lives lost. Key says it’s an honor to sing and pay tribute to the people we lost to this deadly virus.
“I hope that what I did before last year, I can do again this year where we can kind of come out of that depression that we all still might be going through, especially those who’ve lost loved ones to COVID-19. We need something to help cope for us, and I believe prayer and God and music, really helps bring your mindset up."
Key is hoping her voice will bring some calm and people will think about those who lost their lives and remember we can win this battle if we just love one another.
“I hope that with this year that we can kind of keep that song in the back of our heads when we’re having a bad day, and bring that forward so we can get through whatever comes at us in life,” Key said.
The national memorial gets started around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
