Trio of nurse sisters to ride in Thanksgiving parade

METRO DETROIT — They were raised together, they grieved together and they learned together. Now, they’ll float together for America’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Such is the life of the Sterner sisters: Alicia Sterner, Elizabeth Sterner and Karalyn Truba. The three nurses at Corewell Health’s William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak were selected to ride on the hospital group’s float in the Detroit parade.

The Macomb Township sisters were selected by Lamont Yoder, president of Corewell Health Southeast Michigan, to join him in the parade after hearing about how the trio became interested in nursing.

“We met with him, and he presented this opportunity to us,” Karalyn said. “He said it would be his first time walking in the parade and he would love for us to walk by him and be by his side during it. He asked us if we would be interested in it, and we were all very ecstatic and said … we would absolutely enjoy doing that.”

The Sterner sisters first became interested in nursing after living through the cancer diagnosis and care of their mother, Kimberly Sterner.

“My mom was a very outgoing person,” Alicia said. “She had a very joyful personality and every room that she walked into she would light up. Everyone enjoyed her presence. She was just so welcoming and so nice to everyone.”

A kindergarten teacher by trade, Kimberly was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix and, despite treatment, died on Sept. 11, 2010. Karalyn was 11 years old while Elizabeth and Alicia were 10 at the time.

Through the trauma of their mother’s cancer ordeal, the three sisters found a calling in nursing.

“At first I always thought (about becoming a) teacher for sure for me, when I was young,” Karalyn said. “I think looking at my mom and seeing her work with kids, it made me want to do that. After taking care of her and helping her, I think (I decided) there would be no better spot for me than to help people and work as a nurse as my career and I have been that way ever since. I don’t see myself doing anything else. I don’t have a passion for anything else. Nursing is the place where I need to be.”

The Sterner sisters did many things together throughout their lives, and college was no exception. They went through the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and later found positions at Corewell Health’s Royal Oak hospital. Karalyn works as a psychiatric nurse. Elizabeth works in the ICU with a focus on cardiovascular-specific issues. Alicia is a rehabilitation nurse and may look into pediatric nursing in the future.

Corewell Health has chosen the theme of “Together We Can” for its parade float. Elizabeth believes this theme has a lot to say about her and her sisters’ journey.

“The ‘Together We Can’ motto shows that even when you are at what you think would be your worst, even finding a small light in someone else or a community, you can do all things,” Elizabeth said. “If you find that one light at the end of the tunnel, you and the other persons can make it out. I think I find that in my sisters. There have been plenty of times, whether it be at my job or my home or anywhere out in the world, I look to my sisters to support me and they say ‘We can do this, you’re not alone’ and it makes me feel that I can do all things when I have them.”

Alicia, Elizabeth and Karalyn will join Yoder on Corewell Health’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade float as it travels down Woodward Avenue in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 28. The parade will be broadcast on WDIV-TV Channel 4 from 10 a.m. to noon.