Balancing nursing school and caring for her mother with dementia around the clock, 34-year-old Samantha Kortenhoeven perseveres and longs for a better road ahead.

Despite the difficult relationship with her mother and healing from past traumas, Samantha is determined to graduate and build a future for herself.

Caption: Samantha Kortenhoeven smokes a cigarette in her car before her practicum night shift on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in the Frankfort Regional Medical Center parking lot in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The practicum was a requirement for her nursing degree that she was pursuing at Bluegrass Community & Technical College.

Samantha Kortenhoeven helps her mother, Bobby Stephens, put on her jacket on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in their home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Stephens battles diabetes and dementia, both requiring hands-on help from her daughter. “I started noticing subtle changes with her, like she'd leave the damn stove on and little things that she never used to forget,” Kortenhoeven said.

Samantha Kortenhoeven helps her mother, Bobby Stephens, prick her finger on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, on their back porch in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. “The nursing never stops,” Kortenhoeven said after getting home from a night shift at the hospital. Kortenhoeven ensures her mother writes down her daily sugar intake in the journal.

“I didn't think I could do it when they first diagnosed her. I was scared shitless,” Samantha Kortenhoeven said. Kortenhoeven takes a break from talking with her mother while drinking a cup of coffee on her back porch on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at her home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Samantha Kortenhoeven brings a cup of milk to her mother, Bobby Stephens, on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at their home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. “I've learned all these diseases that she has, so then I've just watched her digress slowly over time and telling her you're killing yourself when you eat that. You're genuinely hurting yourself. It's not safe anymore,” Kortenhoeven said.

Samantha Kortenhoeven draws a smiley face in the condensation of her breath on her front door on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at her home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. “Honestly, the thought of never needing another person again is the goal. I've always had a guy there. I’ve always thought that the only way to be happy is to be with a guy.” Kortenhoeven hopes that leaving her mother and moving away will help her find happiness.

Samantha Kortenhoeven cries while smoking a cigarette Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, on her back porch in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. “I can't even say how many times I'm ready to be done and then I've got this overwhelming, gut-wrenching feeling of just as soon as I leave, she's not going to care, and she's just going to fade,” Kortenhoeven said, referring to her mother’s health when she moves out.

Samantha Kortenhoeven puts her hair up before a bath on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in her bedroom in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Kortenhoeven said the clover tattoo is for love. “I don’t need luck, I’m never gonna get it, but I’m always gonna have love.”

“This is what it looks like to have a dream,” Samantha Kortenhoeven said as she holds her stethoscope on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in her home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. "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," Kortenhoeven said, describing her life as a nursing student.

Samantha Kortenhoeven hits her vape in her bathtub on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at her home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Kortenhoeven has little time to herself, and the care she does show herself is in the form of a bubble bath while listening to “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.”

Samantha Kortenhoeven and her mother, Bobby Stephens, laugh on their back porch on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at their home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Stephens had to take care of her mother with dementia and doesn’t want Kortenhoeven to have the same life. “I don’t want her to stay and take care of me,” Stephens said. “She needs to live her life.”

Samantha Kortenhoeven walks toward the auditorium door to graduate from nursing school on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, at Anderson County High School in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Kortenhoeven graduated with a degree in applied sciences. She plans to move to Massachusetts and work as a nurse there, leaving her mother in Kentucky. “I’m excited. Proud of myself and ready to be done. I can't even say how many times I'm ready to be done.”