Story and photos by Abbey Cutrer
Samantha Kortenhoeven sits at a picnic table outside of her school smoking a cigarette, preparing to go into class.
“If I’m not sleeping, I’m studying. If I’m not studying, I’m in class. If I’m not in class, I’m at practicum,” she says, describing her life as a nursing student.
Kortenhoeven, a 34-year-old nursing student at Bluegrass Community & Technical College, balances her demanding coursework with an equally challenging role as a live-in caregiver to her mother, Bobby Stephens.
Kortenhoeven has survived an abusive marriage, mental health struggles, and the heartbreak of the death of her fiance. Now, she juggles her studies with caring for her mother, who battles diabetes and dementia.
Despite a history of ups and downs, the two women share a resilience.
“She’s not giving up on me and I’m not giving up on her, but it’s tough,” Kortenhoeven said.
Stephens, a former Air Force engineer, said she lives knowing that her health could prevent her from seeing her daughter achieve her goals.
“I don’t want her to stay and take care of me,” Stephens said. “She needs to live her life.”
Their relationship wasn’t always close. After Kortenhoeven’s father sent her to live with Stephens at 15, she found herself in the chaos of her mother’s second marriage to an abusive man.
“I was a problem kid,” Kortenhoeven recalls, having dropped out in ninth grade and later attempted to overdose at 16.
She fought her way back, earning her GED and now excelling in nursing school, maintaining all A’s in her classes.
Nursing has become Kortenhoeven’s calling, though the emotional toll is high.
“It’s hard when you come in and see death all the time,” she says. “The nursing never ends.”
Despite the obstacles, Kortenhoeven plans to graduate in December and hopes to move out by March.
She said she’s planning on moving to Massachusetts in March.
She acknowledges the bittersweet reality of leaving her mother but is determined to honor her family’s crest of duty and integrity by building a future beyond her past.
For Kortenhoeven, life has been a series of battles, but now, as she navigates her dual roles, she holds her challenges not as burdens but as badges of honor.
“It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t ever give up on her,” Kortenhoven said.