Metro Detroit sisters turn tragedy into nursing career

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Helping others is a skill some simply roll into. For the Sterner sisters, it's a path they were destined to follow.

"I want nothing more than to see my patients smile," said Kara Sterner.

"It's everything, honestly. On a day-to-day basis, coming into work is my biggest passion," Elizabeth Sterner said.

"I feel like I'm making a positive impact on a lot of patients' lives," said Alicia Sterner.

The Sterners are nursing assistants at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.

They're sisters, soaring toward their nursing goals while inspiring each other daily.

"Without them, I wouldn't be the person I am. They push me to work harder, they push me to do better," said Elizabeth Sterner.

The healthcare industry is a career that sought the Sterner sisters out when they were kids.

At ages 10 and 11 (Alicia and Elizabeth 10, Kara 11), their mom, who was the light of their lives and a woman they say was kind and full of charisma, died from appendix cancer.

"We do vividly remember the nurses helping my mom, and it was just the small smiles that they would give us when we'd go visit her and just the small things that they would do for her," Alicia Sterner said.

"The number one thing that made me choose this path is helping my mom at a young age. She was very sick with cancer, and we had to learn to adapt to that. We were young ourselves, so it wasn't easy, but after coming out of something like that, I wanted nothing more than to just help people, and I knew that my only passion was to help patients and become a nurse," said Kara Sterner.

They're a trio turning tragedy into something positive.

"I think she would be nothing short of proud. We took what happened to us and the experiences that we shared with her, and we just used it as a power tool, and we use it in our work and our school and our everyday personal lives. We just wanted to achieve higher for her, and we wanted to carry that legacy that she left," Elizabeth Sterner said when asked how her mother would react to her daughters pursuing nursing careers.

The three sisters reach for their dreams while encouraging others to do the same.

"Definitely don't give up, keep going, and honestly use that tragedy as a motivation to keep going," said Alicia Sterner.