PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2023

said Cain. “Nursing is a profession that I can honestly say, it’s a family. It’s a connection that people hav e.” THE MUSIC EDUCATORS Molly Sloter found the same kinds of connections with musicians and theater people. Before she retired, Sloter was an accompanist and instructor in Bradley University’s music and theater departments. She continues to play for choirs and pit orchestras throughout the Peoria area. The amount of teaching and playing she did during her daughters’ youth worried her when they were younger. “It was a logistical nightmare,” Sloter said. “I felt really guilty about dragging them around places, but the influence it had on them is that they knew the world was filled with really good people who were musicians. I didn’t know how that was going to play out. I just knew my job as a mom was to involve them in a bunch of different things so they could figure out what they liked enough to pursue and hopefully find a job.” The comment makes her eldest daughter, Dana Sloter, smile. “I knew when I started playing in the band that I wanted to be a music ed major. Not a band director. Not the job you get after the degree. I knew I wanted to be a music education major because you could learn all the instruments.” ‘YOUR ONLY OBLIGATION IS TO USE YOUR GOD-GIVEN — Molly Sloter Still, Dana and her sister Maggie Sloter didn’t expect to end up in their current careers. Maggie was interested in several career paths. Dana wanted to be a musician but didn’t think she was the right fit for a professional orchestra. Neither wanted to teach. Their mother didn’t plan on being a teacher, either, but went on to inspire students inside and outside of the classroom, often helping them during vulnerable times. TALENTS TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE’

From left, Ben Elder, Mom Stephanie Cain, Nate Elder and Cassie Elder

“I decided nursing was for me,” she said. “I wanted to help people. You can be a nurse practitioner where it’s not a doctor, but you get to diagnose, prescribe and treat. You’re always teaching in nursing, either new nurses or student nurses. So I got the best of all worlds.” First, Cain took the time to start a family. When her youngest son was born with a hole in each lung and her middle child developed an autoimmune issue that attacked his kidneys, Cain watched the nurses care for her children. It reignited her passion for health care, and she returned to nursing school. “I knew it was my calling,” she said. ‘NURSING IS A PROFESSION THAT I CAN HONESTLY SAY, IT'S A FAMILY’ — Stephanie Cain Today, Cain is a nurse practitioner at OSF HealthCare with board certification in advanced practice registered nursing and executive nursing. She also has raised an entire family of nurses, from her daughter, Cassie Elder, to her sons Nathaniel and Benjamin Elder. “Some of the stuff she would tell us was really hard for her and for her patients. It expanded my ability to hear what the patient went through, to step in and see it from their perspective,”

said Cassie. “[Mom’s] experiences helped build my experiences. I still call her when I leave work, sometimes to complain about my day or to share a funny story, and sometimes just to cry because something was rough.” Cassie Elder started down a pre-med track in college but eventually switched because she wanted to carry out care plans instead of making diagnoses. Now, she specializes as a traveling nurse with Medical Solutions, taking temporary positions when facilities need extra help. Recently, Elder had a seven-month rotation on OSF St. Francis Medical Center’s acute neurology floor. She was happy to find a supportive staff that included her mother and brothers. Cain said the other nurses quickly realized they were family. “They looked at our faces, and then we both laughed. They’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you sound just like your mom! You look just like your mom!’” Elder notes that her contract kept her in different areas of the hospital ministry, but she did get occasional breaks with her mom, who isn’t shy about dispensing advice. “Don’t be the chaos,” Elder recites. “Just breathe. Be calm. It’ll all be okay.” Cain enjoys seeing her children involved in something bigger than themselves. “I’m proud and excited for them,”

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